


The New Frontier

by rationalbookworm



Series: Super Old/Abandoned Works [9]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, I hardly even remember this, I remember I loved it, didn't look this over or edit it, i don't even know what to tag, it is exactly how it was when I originally posted it, so so old, this is so old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 69,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24449419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rationalbookworm/pseuds/rationalbookworm
Summary: Hayley and Mikaela have been friends since they started Starfleet Academy together. They've done everything together, so they're thrilled when they're assigned to the same starship. That is until all hell breaks loose...One of the first fanfictions I ever wrote. Don't really remember any of it, but hopefully it's still good.Originally posted November 2012-May 2014
Relationships: Spock/Original Female Character
Series: Super Old/Abandoned Works [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1442953
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Hayley stretched in her seat, her arms reaching high above her head as a yawn escaped before she could stifle it. So tired was she that she didn't see the hand flying at her until it smacked her arm.

"Nah-uh," a disgruntled voice whined beside her. "None of that. We still haven't really celebrated yet."

Hayley smiled apologetically at her roommate before investigating her surroundings. She hadn't really paid attention to where her friends had dragged her but she still wasn't surprised to see the interior of the local bar. Zooey's idea of celebrating always involved consuming a lot of alcohol. As if summoned by the thought Zooey appeared from the crowd clutching a colorful drink in each hand, her roommate, Viola, close on her heels with two more drinks.

"What exactly are we celebrating anyway?" Viola asked, taking the seat next to Mikaela who immediately relieved Vi of a bright pink margarita. Zooey sat down as well, handing Hayley a tall thin glass full of some sort of neon green sludge. Vi shook her head, dislodging strands of her short brown hair from her headband. "I still don't see how you drink that. It's called Toxic Waste for a reason."

"There's not actually toxic waste in it you know." Hayley smiled. "Just an absurd amount of alcohol."

"And yet it never seems to affect you," Mikaela grinned.

"Can we get back on topic please?" Zooey shook her sandy blonde hair out of her hazel eyes. She raised her glass. "To Hayley! The youngest in her class graduating from Med School!"

"Oh," Vi frowned but raised her glass none the less. Clearly she had been hoping to celebrate something else.

Hayley raised her glass as well, "And to Vi and the Starship Enterprise. They made the right choice when they assigned you as one of their new engineers."

Vi beamed, her blue eyes shining. Hayley gulped down a third of her drink, glancing around once more over the rim of her glass. A couple guys at the bar stood staring at their table. It wasn't the first time guys stared. Though no matter how many times it happened, she could never get used to it. All her life she felt like an outsider. First, being the only human child on Vulcan; then being a Vulcan raised teen back on Earth. She never quite fit in. She had friends now, sure, but that didn't make up for her childhood; or the fact that she felt separated from normal humans. So the fact that two guys were staring at them merely made her uneasy rather than flattered.

"Have you gotten your assignment yet?" Vi's voice snapped Hayley out of her reverie.

"Not yet," Hayley shook her head slowly. "I have an appointment with the Fleet Admiral tomorrow."

"For an assignment?" Vi raised her eyebrow. "I've never heard of anyone making an appointment just to be assigned."

"I didn't make the appointment, Vi. Fleet Admiral Carlson did."

"Why?" Mikaela asked, genuine concern coloring her tone. "You didn't do anything wrong....Did you?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Hayley stared at her hands folded around her glass. This wasn't the first time she'd considered the possibility of being denied a position on a starship. Was she to be punished for something she hadn't realized she'd done? Or did they simply consider her too young to be one of their doctors? She was only twenty-three years old. The average age was twenty-six for Med School grads.

The general conversation drifted as Hayley sat mulling over the possibilities of why the Fleet Admiral would want to speak with her personally. As a half-Betazoid, Mikaela could occasionally read the minds and sense the emotions of people she was close to, including Hayley. So it wasn't incredible that she knew exactly what Hayley was going through. While the others were talking, Mikaela leaned closer to her roommate so no one would overhear, "I'm sure nothing's wrong."

"Yeah?" Hayley sighed, "Then why was I asked to the Admiral's office?"

"Maybe," she paused. "Maybe....he wants to congratulate you. After all you are the youngest graduate they've had....well, ever. As far as I know, anyways."

Hayley smiled, "I hadn't thought of that." Probably because it seemed a little far-fetched. But still, it gave her the small ray of hope she'd been searching for. She leaned back in her chair, relaxing once more, and downed the rest of her drink as the two guys stumbled over to their table, apparently drunk. Mikaela groaned quietly as they pulled chairs over from a neighboring table and sat with them. Internally, Hayley echoed the sentiment. Drunken guys hitting on her friends wasn't her definition of celebrating an accomplishment.

"How 'bout we ge' you la'ies a drink?" one of them slurred.

Hayley rolled her eyes.

"Mmmm," Zooey grinned leaning towards him. "That sounds good to me."

"Yo, bartender!" the other called out. "'Nother round!"

A few minutes later a waitress and brought them fresh beverages and the men were still flirting horribly with Zooey and Vi, the only ones affected by their flattery. Hayley and Mikaela were becoming more agitated by the minute.

"So," the second guy threw his arm around Vi's shoulders. "The Enterprise huh? That's impressive."

Vi giggled, "Thanks."

Hayley snorted, "The Enterprise is not as impressive as it seems. The Titan, the Voyager, and the Merlin are all massively greater in size and have superior equipment in engineering and all the sciences, especially on medical."

"Okay," the first man said slowly.

"The only asset that makes the Enterprise consequential is the people powering the ship. They have the foremost in every field. The best and the brightest have been assigned to the Enterprise. So yes, of course that makes it an honor that Vi was asked to join them."

Vi smiled in gratitude.

"However," Hayley continued without pause. "One must take into account a multitude of factors before they make a decision on which ship to accept. Vi is a computer expert and engineer. There are many excellent operatives in her field already on the Enterprise. This means it will be more difficult for her to advance into any leadership positions or be noticed by any one of importance."

Vi scowled at her friend, "Hayley-"

"No, no," Mikaela smiled, "let her finish."

"Also, one must consider the mission of the vessel. The Enterprise has a mission to seek out other life forms and, if they are antagonistic, protect the Federation by any means necessary. I for one, would not want to be in that line of work."

"What would you prefer?" Mikaela asked sincerely.

"I always wanted to help save a dying nation by discovering a cure to a terminal disease of some sort." Hayley chuckled. "But that's probably far out of reach."

"No it's not. I'm sure you'll get to do that someday."

"Thanks Mikaela, but it's impossible to ascertain that. You're simply saying that as a friend."

Mikaela shrugged, "Well at least one good thing came of that speech."

"What?"

She waved her hand in the direction of the four, now empty chairs. "You made the morons go away."

Hayley frowned, "Yeah, but Zooey and Vi left too."

"Like I said," Mikaela smirked. "You made the morons go away."

Hayley sighed, "It _would_ be nice not to chase guys away with my weirdness. Why do I do stuff like that?"

"You can't help it, Hayley. It's in your nature to speak your mind, no matter what."

"Yeah, I know. But sometimes I wonder if I just don't have the control I should have over it."

"No control? You?" Mikaela raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up."

"I'm serious. You are the most controlled person I know. Especially over your emotions. You hardly ever crack."

"I'm sure my old teachers will be glad to hear that," Hayley sarcastically mumbled. Her Vulcan teachers had always told her she was too emotional, then later on Earth she was called cold, distant. It made it very difficult when she was trying to date. Of course up until recently she'd been too busy with her studies to give it much thought. Now she realized she may never find someone who could truly understand what she was going through. A grin involuntarily spread across her face. There _was_ someone who understood.

"Come on," Mikaela stood. "Let's get out of here."

Hayley nodded, polishing off the last of her third Toxic Waste.

* * *

Hayley sat straight up in the uncomfortable plush chair in the waiting room outside Fleet Admiral Carlson's office. Everything about the room was generic. From the neutral carpet and wallpaper to the secretary with too much make-up and too high hair talking quietly on the phone. Despite her mundane surroundings Hayley still felt nervous. She hadn't been able to appease herself with a logical reason why she'd been summoned here. And that did not sit well with her. Nonetheless, she sat calmly silent as if there was nothing wrong. Only her rigid position gave her away.

A beep sounded on the secretary’s desk and the overly-friendly redhead smiled over at her, "The Admiral is ready for you now."

Hayley stood. Her palms didn't sweat. Her legs didn't shake. She didn't fidget. She showed no outward sign of anxiety. Although, if she were being completely honest, she felt like she was going to puke.

Fleet Admiral Viktor Carlson was a man past his prime, but clinging to it desperately. Hayley could see that though he may once have been mostly muscle, that had long been ruined by a fatty diet and lack of exercise. He had stern yet appealing features, dangerous and comforting all at the same time. None of this helped her nerves however. She knew this tall man who stood to greet her was highly influential in Starfleet. He could make or break her career with one word.

"Miss Spencer, I presume," his voice was so deep, Hayley was sure she felt it rattle the floor. He chuckled as he extended a hand, "Excuse me. I mean, _Doctor_ Spencer, of course."

Hayley couldn't help but smile as she grasped his hand. She could get used to hearing that. "Admiral."

"You must be wondering why I asked you here," he indicated that she should sit in a chair across the desk from him.

"I have to admit, I have been quite curious."

"Well I won't leave you in suspense." He cleared his throat. "Are you familiar with the Starship Titan?"

"Only a little, sir."

"The Starship Titan was sent on a classified mission two years ago to discover what had killed a scientific research party on an asteroid just outside of the Romulan neutral zone. What they found there was a toxic gas that, when inhaled, can result in repertory failure, seizures, and, eventually, death."

"My God," Hayley whispered. It was horrible that such a thing existed and that people had died from it, yet she couldn't help but feel a bit excited. This was the type of work she had wanted to do since she started college. Was it possible that the Admiral had asked her here to....but she shouldn't get her hopes up.

"Since then, the crew on the Titan has been working hard, trying to create a vaccine to prevent any more deaths. They have not yet succeeded. In fact they haven't even succeeded in creating an antidote in case one of them accidentally gets infected."

"Seriously?"

"We just lost another man last week."

"That's....awful. But, sir, I....I don't understand what that has to do with me."

"They need assistance, and you are the best. Who else would I ask?"

Hayley could do nothing but stare in disbelief.

"I understand that this is a big decision. However, the shuttle to Titan will be leaving next week, so I'll need your answer by Friday."

"O-Of course."

Hayley walked out of the office, thoughts of what to do whirring around in her brain, drowning out everything else. She was so caught up in her thoughts she almost ran into a few people. And a few walls. It wasn't until she entered her dorm room that Hayley finally snapped out of it. Mikaela was casually stretched out on her bed with nothing but her panties and bra on. It seemed a bit suspicious, but Hayley had enough experience with her roommate to not bother wondering what was going on.

"Hey," Mikaela greeted. "So what happened with the Admiral? I thought you'd be longer."

"So did I," Hayley grinned as she flopped onto her own bed. "All he wanted to talk to me about was my assignment."

"Seriously?" Mikaela sat up.

"Mm-hmm. He wants me to join the Titan to do research in creating a vaccine for some sort of toxic gas."

"Oh my God!"

"I know," Hayley smiled, thrilled at her friend's excitement, but showing only calm. "It's exactly what I wanted."

"No. I mean, yes, that's wonderful. But what I meant was I just got news of my assignment, and _I'm_ going to be working on the Titan as their counselor."

Before she could come up with an appropriate reply, Hayley was interrupted by quiet deep breathing. Breathing that could not possibly be coming from Mikaela.

She crossed her arms, "Who is he?"

Mikaela's eyes widened innocently, "Who's who?"

"The mouth-breather hiding under the bed."

Suddenly Captain James T. Kirk hopped up from under the bed wearing only his boxers. He looked skeptically at Hayley, "You could hear me breathing?"

Hayley groaned inwardly but kept her voice neutral, "You again? Really Mikaela, I thought you were over him."

"We're just friends," Mikaela shrugged.

Hayley rolled her eyes, turning back to Kirk, "You may leave now."

He paused in the act of pulling on his slacks, "You sound exactly like someone I know."

She stared at him blankly, "Uh-huh."

They stared each other down, both refusing to give in. Eventually Kirk shook his head, chuckling under his breath, "Just like him. Weird." He left shortly after that and Mikaela immediately started talking about the Titan. Evasive action, Hayley realized. She smiled and went along with it. It really wasn't her business who Mikaela slept with.

That night they went out to celebrate again, soon discovering that Zooey too would be joining the Titan as the original communications officer had recently died from repertory failure. Only Hayley knew the particulars, but she wasn't at leave to discuss it. Instead she continued to take large gulps of her drink, enjoying the company of her friends. Especially Vi. She had never been particularly fond of Vi, but the chance of them seeing each other for the next few years was slim, and it was nice to spend a little time together without annoying one another.

Back in her room, as Mikaela passed out from too many drinks, Hayley found a bright pink lollipop lying on her pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

_A few months later...._

Jack Spencer knelt down behind his six-year-old daughter adjusting her grip on the T-Ball bat. The ball was already set in front of her.

"Grip tight, Hayley," he told her before showing her how to swing. "That's it!" he smiled.

Hayley grinned. She didn't really enjoy sports of any kind, but her father had been off planet for the last three months, and would be leaving again soon. She wanted to make the most of her limited time with him. If that meant swinging a bat or attempting to catch a ball, she'd do it.

As he helped his daughter stand properly, three Vulcan men called out to Jack. Hayley recognized her godfather, Sarek among them. She sighed as her father hurried over to them, leaving Hayley to shift for herself. She halfheartedly started swinging her bat towards the large plastic ball atop the plastic pole, each swing going wide. Looking around for her father, Hayley's gaze traveled over the rocky Vulcan terrain landing on a small group of children. One was clearly being bullied by the other, slightly larger children. It didn't take long for Hayley to recognize Spock, Sarek's youngest son and her best and only friend.

Rage shot through her blood as she watched the tallest boy push Spock, causing him to drop backwards to the ground. Hayley gripped the bat tightly, her knuckles turning white in the effort and swung as hard as she could. _Thwack._ The ball flew high up into the air, arching at just the right time and angle to land on the intended target. The boy shouted out in pain as he doubled over, his hands cupping his now bruised privates.

Grinning widely, Hayley spun around to find her father and Sarek rushing forward, shock and amusement on the human's face while the Vulcan stayed stoic as always. "Daddy!" she called as they grew closer. "I hit the ball!"

That pushed him over the edge. Jack let out a loud bark of laughter, kneeling down to her level, "Hayley!"

Hayley's brow furrowed. Her father's voice was higher pitched, definitely female, definitely not his own.

"Hayley!" he said again in that weird, familiar female voice.

Something soft hit her face. Hard.

"Hayley! Wake up!"

Hayley blinked in the sudden light in her private quarters on the Titan. Mikaela stood over her, a pillow raised in her hand, ready to smack Hayley again. Mikaela's favorite way to wake up her friend. Hayley pushed herself up to a sitting position. "Wha' is it?" she asked groggily.

Mikaela's jaw was set. "We have an issue."

Hayley bolted out of bed pulling off her pajamas and tugging on her uniform as she spoke, "What sort of an issue?"

Mikaela opened and closed her mouth multiple times, unsure of what to say. Finally she shook her head, "Just hurry."

The two women headed down a circular hall to an elevator. Mikaela lead the way in and pressed a button. The machine whirred as they sped toward their destination in compatible silence. They exited to a lower deck where the Communications Center was located. They went down a crowded corridor to where a desk was off to the side, slightly isolated from the rest of the officers working down there. Zooey looked up from her screen, a frown on her face. She stood and waved them into an empty office. It hadn't been used since the last communications officer died. There was no chance of any contamination; however people still didn't want to use it regularly so there was little chance of interruption.

"We have a problem," Zooey stated, her hand shaking as she fidgeted with a strand of her shoulder length hair.

"Yeah. I deduced that sweetie," Hayley rolled her eyes. "What's the problem?"

She took a deep breath, "I intercepted some unauthorized transmissions sent into the Neutral Zone," she paused. When Hayley failed to react she added, "They were in Romulan."

Hayley exhaled sharply, "I was afraid of something like that."

"You....?" Mikaela shook her head, "Wait, what?"

"Does anyone else know?" Hayley asked Zooey calmly.

"No. I only told Mikaela, and when she didn't know what to do, she went for you."

Hayley nodded, thinking. She had known for some time that a Romulan was onboard, posing as a Vulcan, but she hadn't told her friends, not wanting to worry them. She had waited, wanting to know what he was doing there. Now she guessed she knew. Question was, what were they to do about it?

"Hayley, you knew this would happen." It wasn't a question. Mikaela, being half -Betazoid, could occasionally read the thoughts of people she was closest to. Even without that, however, Mikaela would be able to tell what was passing through Hayley's mind. After all, they'd been together since the beginning of college when she was fifteen and Mikaela sixteen.

"You know the Vulcan doctor I work with?"

Both women nodded.

"He's not Vulcan."

"What?!" Mikaela's eyes were as wide as saucers.

Hayley sighed and leaned against the unused desk. "I wasn't sure at first. Something just felt off about the guy, but I just shrugged it off. I figured he was just....creepy." She half-smiled, "You'd be surprised how many Vulcans can become kinda creepy. Then I started noticing small things. Sometimes he would get frustrated. _Visibly_ frustrated. Like he didn't have control over his emotions. I wasn't too worried about that though. Some Vulcans can have a hard time going through with the Kolinahr. Very few, but still...."

"Kolin-what?" Zooey interrupted.

"It's the ritual where they purge all emotion," Hayley explained quickly before continuing, her voice flat. "It wasn't until I started asking questions that I really got suspicious."

"Questions about what?" Mikaela asked when she didn't continue.

"Vulcan mostly. When he last visited. Who his parents were. Where he grew up. None of it seemed to fit. So I looked him up." She stopped again, her mind racing ahead, thinking of ways to stop whatever the Romulan was planning.

"And?" Mikeala prompted.

She shrugged. "And nothing. He had no record. The only way for that to be, would be if he were Romulan, as we don't have access to Romulan files. Or Romulan anything, for that matter."

"Shit." Zooey summed up. "We are so fucked."

Hayley sighed, "Must you speak that way?"

"Like you don't cuss?"

"Guys!" Mikaela cut off the bickering.

"What did the transmissions say, exactly?" Hayley asked, getting back on topic like nothing had happened.

Zooey started nervously playing with her hair again. "I'm not that fluent in Romulan, but from what I understand, they want the gas."

"For what?" Mikaela whispered, like it would make the answer easier to handle.

"I don't know," Zooey was talking low as well.

"We won't have to worry too much about that," Hayley breathed a sigh of relief. "I received a message just this morning stating that I would be the only medical personnel allowed to handle the gas. The others will help with the equations and experiments, but not allowed to physically touch the containers."

"You told the Admiral about-"

Hayley shook her head before Mikaela could finish. "I told him nothing. I simply said it would perhaps be easier to prevent exposure if fewer people had direct access. He agreed."

"But what are we going to _do_?" Zooey whined. "We can't just stand by and let this happen!"

"We won't." Hayley squared her shoulders, determined. "I have a plan."

Mikaela raised an eyebrow, "When did you-"

"About a second ago," Hayley answered the unfinished question while walking toward the door.

* * *

Hayley weaved through the crowd in the corridor leading to Medical Bay, gently folding another note she wrote out for Zooey to send. She could only hope that Spock would somehow receive them. There simply was no way to get them directly to the Enterprise, so they'd had to send her coded messages for help to no one in particular, hoping a Starship would eventually pick them up. When they did it would only be logical for them to send it on to all other Starships until someone could decode them. And only Spock would be able to. She had written them in the special language she and him had made up as children. No one else knew the language. Not even their parents. Spock would know it was her and know to send help if he couldn't come himself.

She tucked the note inside her pocket as she entered the lab adjoining Medical Bay. A tall man leaning over her desk made stop dead in her tracks. He looked up at the swish of the automatic door.

"Doctor," Hayley greeted, remaining calm as she stared down the Romulan. "Can I help you with something?"

He gestured toward her notes scattered on her desk, "I simply wished to see if there was anything I could do to assist you, but I find I cannot make out your notes. What is this language you use?"

"Mine," was her only answer as she approached and straightened her things.

He paused, stepping back to allow her room, "I see."

She sighed, "Thank you for the offer, but I'm managing well enough on my own."

"Of course you are," he started to move away. "Then perhaps I can make myself useful with one of the other doctors."

"Perhaps," she muttered as the door closed behind him. "But I doubt it." Hayley checked all her notes and belongings. Twice. Nothing was missing. The Romulan doctor had left unsatisfied.

After doing a good three hours of hard work, Hayley was smiling. She was so close to finishing an antidote. A day, maybe two and she'd be able to present something to the Admiral. She couldn't stop grinning as she rose, stretched and slowly made her way back to the Communications Center so Zooey could send yet another message. Hayley could tell that the anxiety of the whole situation was weighing heavily on her friends. More so on Zooey, whose care-free nature couldn't handle this much stress. She tried to calm their nerves, but until something happened to help them, Hayley doubted if any of them would get a good night's sleep. Ever since that night Mikaela woke her up for their conference Hayley's insomnia had returned in full force. For the past three weeks she hadn't slept more than five hours. She was running on her Vulcan strength of will and coffee. Her own nerves stretched as tight as piano wires.

Zooey was not happy when Hayley joined her at her station. She didn't think any of the messages were getting through to anyone and didn't want to keep risking her life on the off chance that they had. She was thinking of giving up and pretending she hadn't found anything and hope for the best.

Hayley sighed, too exhausted for all this, "I know you're tired of this, sweetie. I am too. As is Mikaela. But we can't give up." Zooey still wouldn't relax her arms crossed over her chest, a sign of her frustration. "Listen, I need to go back to the asteroid later today, to collect more samples. How 'bout you and Mikaela join me? We could all use a few minutes off this ship."

"What about Doctor Spy?"

Hayley rolled her eyes at the childish nickname Zooey had chosen. "It'll only be a half hour tops and he doesn't have access to anything important. The other two doctors will be in the lab with him testing on the animals the entire time. I've already checked the schedule."

Zooey nodded after a moment's hesitation. Then she sighed and began the transmission Hayley gave her.


	3. Chapter 3

The shuttle that took them to the asteroid was small, seating only four. But as there were only three passengers, it mattered little. Hayley's equipment was stored in the back along with the life support equipment they needed to breathe in the toxic atmosphere. They made it to the surface with no complications, grabbing everything they needed and heading out to collect air and soil samples.

Hayley carefully lead the way over rocks, looking for a new area to collect from. She wanted a good collection of specimens before she claimed the antidote was ready. "Here's good." she announced, dropping to one knee and pulling out of her bag some of her tools.

She was almost done capping her third soil sample when she heard Mikaela gasp loudly, "What the hell!"

Hayley didn't turn until she had carefully packed away her specimen. By that time Zooey had joined Mikaela and was also exclaiming at something. Slowly she joined her friends, expecting them to be looking at one of the asteroid’s weird plants she'd encountered the four other times she'd been there. But when she found them, they weren't looking at the ground. Rather they were looking into space. Not toward the Titan, but in the other direction. Hayley squinted through her life support helmet to see what looked like a small ship similar to their shuttle floating freely in space.

"What the hell?" she copied Mikaela.

"I know right?" Zooey nodded.

They waited for many silent minutes, watching as the ship slowly floated toward their asteroid. As it approached, Hayley could start seeing detail. It was indeed a shuttle off of a spaceship, but the design didn't look familiar. It definitely wasn't from Starfleet. Could it be Romulan? She had no idea. Either way her conscience wouldn't let her just leave it out there. What if there was someone on that shuttle? What if they were dying?

She tapped into her communicator, "Dr. Spencer to Titan. We have a free-floating shuttle about six hundred meters west of your position."

It took them a moment to answer, "Titan to Dr. Spencer. We see the craft and bringing it onboard with our tractor beam. Do you need assistance?"

"Negative. We'll need a few more minutes to collect samples and then be on our way back. Spencer out."

They hurried through the process of collecting, not speculating out loud what they ship could be, or who could be on it. But that didn't stop Hayley from thinking. She couldn't shut up her mind to be able to concentrate. So after two botched air samples, she decided it was time to call it quits and return with only three soil samples and five air samples. She had intended for more, but with little to no concentration, none of them could work well. They headed back to the shuttle and took off for the Titan.

A seriously damaged shuttle lay crumpled near where they docked. The three women glanced at each other before hurrying forward, wondering what could be inside. Engineers stood round the shuttle, a couple climbing inside.

"What is it?" Zooey asked, warily. "Romulan?"

An engineer shook his head, "No, I'm not sure what it is exactly."

"Was there anyone inside?" Hayley asked looking at the side hanging dangerously. Who could survive an attack like this?

"A woman....I think. They took her to Medical Bay. She was completely unconscious."

Hayley lead them away, practically jogging down the corridors toward Medical Bay. The Romulan was there along with Dr. Weaver and Dr. Rice. All three men were looking down at someone covered up on a gurney. All looked confused, like they didn't know what they were doing. And they probably didn't. They were trained as research doctors, not medical. Luckily for them, or the survivor, Hayley was trained as both. Handing her bag of asteroid samples to Mikaela for safe keeping, Hayley entered the room, muscled her way through the men, and looked at who she was dealing with.

She was momentarily shocked by what she saw. It was indeed a young woman, but far from human. Her skin was grayish green, like a desert lizard, but smooth and cool to the touch. Her lips were a shocking shade of purple and her hair was a sort of long Mohawk, reminding Hayley of a horse's mane. It was blue at the top, but slowly faded to red by the end. She was extremely tall for a woman, at least six feet. Her feet hung off the end of the gurney. She looked very young.

"What is it?" Zooey asked again, inching toward the door.

" _She_ is Sangian," Hayley nearly growled as she checked for the two heart beats. Sangians had two hearts.

"Sangian?" Mikaela asked quietly.

"From Sangia. The women there are basically slaves. I've heard of some trying to escape a few times, but none have ever succeeded."

"Until now."

Hayley smiled, now listening for her breathing. "She's very young. Eighteen, I'd say, judging by the height and muscles. Not to mention the skin tone."

"The skin tone?" Dr. Rice asked in his deep African voice.

"Yes. When Sangians are first born their skin is a very vibrant green. It dulls to a more grayish color as they grow. By the time they're eighteen they have achieved around this shade."

"Weird," Zooey muttered.

Hayley ignored her, "She seems to be alright, but I'll keep her under observation for a few days."

"What are you talking about?" Mikaela asked. "She hasn't even woken up yet."

"Yes she has. Actually I doubt if she's even been unconscious at all." As Hayley spoke the Sangian slowly lifted her eyelids, revealing bright yellow eyes that flickered from one face to another, clearly unsure of her surroundings. Hayley smiled at her, "It's alright. You're safe. No one here will hurt you." Her thoughts immediately shifted to the Romulan, but she shook it off, trying to concentrate on the present.

Gradually, the Sangian sat up still looking around.

"What's your name?" Mikaela asked gently.

It took a while but she finally spoke in a whisper, "Elphaba."

"I'm Hayley and this is Mikaela and Zooey." She left out the men who were standing a little ways away. Elphaba would be too frightened of them. In her world men terrorized women and controlled everything in their lives. Introducing her to three men at this moment would not make her trust them, and Hayley wanted her to trust them so they could help her, though she had no idea _how_ they were to do that.

"Do not take me back!" Elphaba suddenly shouted, gripping Hayley's arm in an iron grasp and making everyone in the room jump.

"Of course I won't," Hayley told her, gently prying her fingers off her. She could feel bruises forming where Elphaba had held her. "I won't let anyone take you where you don't want to go, alright? You're safe."

Just as suddenly as she'd grabbed her arm, Elphaba now had Hayley round her waist, crushing her in a vise-like bear hug. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear.

Hayley patted her back, motioning for help at the same time, unable to breathe.

"Elphaba, sweetheart," Mikaela smiled, trying to pull her back, "you have let her go now."

She let go, her eyes widening as Hayley gasped for air. "I'm sorry."

"That's alright, sweetie," Hayley gasped. "You didn't mean to. Just remember, we're more breakable than you."

They all laughed, even the men. Elphaba jumped at the deep laughter and scooted further away, narrowing her gaze at them.

"Maybe you three should go," Hayley tried her best not to sound harsh.

Dr. Rice nodded and motioned for the other two to follow. When they left, Elphaba turned to Hayley, "You made them leave. How?"

Zooey grinned, "She's their superior."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are. You are totally superior to them."

Hayley rolled her eyes, not wanting to bicker. She felt a little awkward as Elphaba was staring at her in wonder. "C'mon," she told the room as she took up her bag again and headed to the door. "Let's get something to eat." She half-turned to see Elphaba hurrying to walk beside her.

* * *

A few weeks later, Elphaba had become part of their team. More than that, Hayley saw her as a sort of little sister. Someone she had to take care of. Normally she and Mikaela took care of each other, and Zooey when needed. Neither one felt like the older sibling in that relationship. It was more equal, like they were twins or something. But Elphaba, or Elba as they soon learned to call her, was someone they constantly had to look after. Having spent her whole life in slavery, it was hard for her to get used to her new-found freedom. Only a few days ago, Hayley and Mikaela had to stop an idiot engineer from taking advantage of her. He had planned to order her into his bed, like the male Sangians did all the time. The women had overheard and taken her away from him, telling her she never had to do something she didn't want to anymore. But the really amazing part was when Zooey found out. The Communications officer had flown into a rage and actually tried beating the poor guy into a pulp. Mikaela had stopped her before she actually killed the guy, but it did succeed in helping Elba realize that women have every right to say no.

Hayley sat down with Mikaela in the Rec Room, the giant 3D Chess Set looming in front of her on the table. She sighed as Mikaela took down her king yet again. Hayley never could beat anyone. Well actually, she never tried. She knew all the rules to chess, all the strategy that would allow her to win. She just didn't care. Whenever she played she simply moved whatever piece she saw first, making it amazingly easy for people to beat her. It mattered little. Hayley still loved playing, no matter how many times she lost.

"Again?" Hayley asked, already setting up her white pieces.

Mikaela chuckled, but followed suit.

The Rec Room was abandoned except for Hayley and Mikaela. Everyone had left for their private quarters for the night almost two hours ago. Hayley, however, had chronic insomnia and wasn't remotely tired yet. Mikaela was yawning at irregular intervals but didn't say anything. She was always the one to sit up with Hayley when she couldn't sleep.

As they began their next game, Mikaela asked again, "You're sure?"

"Absolutely certain. The tests are all positive." It had only been a few hours ago that Hayley had her eureka moment - the antidote was finished and according to the tests, working perfectly. After triple checking her results, Hayley had prepared a handful of injections, ready for any emergency. She had yet to share this information with the other doctors, worried the Romulan would take the antidote.

Hayley sighed as Mikaela took her last knight and Elba came bursting into the room a huge smile on her face, "Hi!"

"Hi, sweetie," Hayley smiled back. "What are you up to?"

"I was just down in Communications with Zooey. Is it true that you are sending out secret messages?"

"Shhhh," both women quickly hushed her. Mikaela jumped up to check the outside corridor. When she nodded Hayley continued.

"Yes, we are," she whispered. She was going to kill Zooey for telling Elba. "But you can't tell anyone, okay?"

Elba nodded, her eyes wide with the intensity of the conversation. "But why?"

"We could get hurt if certain people find out," Mikaela explained sitting back down and finishing the game with one move. "Checkmate."

Hayley ignored her, concentrating on the conversation. "Listen closely. There is someone onboard," no way in hell was she going to tell the naive Sangian who it was, "who is trying to steal the gas. We don't know why, but we can't let that happen. It could kill _hundreds_ of people if it got into the wrong hands."

"That's why we're sending out those messages. We're asking for help because we can't take him on ourselves. We could get hurt."

Elba shook her head, "Oh no. I will not let that happen."

Hayley's eyebrows shot up. What was this woman thinking? "Excuse me?"

"You were the ones who rescued me from my shuttle. I must repay that debt."

"Oh boy," Mikaela muttered under her breath.

Hayley shook her head, "You don't have to-"

"Oh, but I must. It is part of Sangian law. If someone saves your life you must repay them by saving theirs."

"But sweetie, you're not on Sangia anymore. You don't have to follow their laws."

"But I _like_ this law."

Hayley sighed. She couldn't think of an argument against that. After a moment's pause she glanced at the chess set Mikaela had just finished setting up, "You want to learn how to play?"

Elba smiled bobbing her head.

* * *

Dr. Rice was a godsend. Since Elba came onboard he had helped her progressively come out of her shell and be more comfortable around men. Then again, it was easy to feel relaxed around him. When Hayley first arrived on the Titan it had been Dr. Rice that made her feel welcome and at home. She never could exactly put her finger on it, but there was something about him that had the whole room at ease.

So it didn't surprise Hayley to see Elba sitting on a high stool in the lab asking Dr. Rice endless questions. He patiently answered her as he continued his work.

Hayley smiled and went to her work station picking up one of her notebooks and flipping through it quickly until she found the right page. It was just a random page of notes from when she first began, but she wasn't looking at that. A small photograph was pressed between the pages, faded with time but still recognizable. Two small children, one clearly younger than the other, sat on a Vulcan balcony. The taller was a Vulcan male, his arm wrapped protectively around the human girl's shoulders while her smaller arms gripped around his waist. She smiled widely, while he stood stoically, like all Vulcans. Still, looking closely at the familiar face Hayley could see a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. Carefully Hayley flipped over the picture. On the back was a small message in a long elegant hand.

_To Hayley. Congratulations on graduating from med school. I hope to see you soon on the Enterprise. Spock._

Hayley smiled, running a finger over the small indentions of where Spock had pressed the pen a little too hard. He had sent this to her a month before she even graduated, but he had known and come to deliver it himself over a special dinner at her favorite restaurant. That's how it always had been. Since she was born Spock had known her better than she'd known herself. Somehow sensing when she was happy or sad or when something good or bad happened. That's why she had complete faith in him coming for them. Even without the messages, he should know. There was no way he couldn't....

A loud explosion shook the entire lab. Elba toppled over out of her chair. Dr. Rice knelt down, quickly moving under the desk and shouting for the girls to do the same. Hayley dropped to the ground, shoving her prized possession into her pocket before rolling under her table, watching Elba scramble under with Dr. Rice.

It was over as quickly as it had started. The lab had minimal damage. Only a few rats had gotten loose and papers were scattered all over. Nevertheless, no one was hurt and that's what counted.

"Wait here," Dr. Rice demanded before marching out of the room.

Hayley stood, dusting herself off, "Are you alright?"

"I-I am fine," Elba muttered, visibly shaken.

Hayley had no time to make sure. Quickly she turned and gathered all papers and notebooks of importance. She had a feeling she would be needing those soon. Seeming to catch on, Elba moved forward her hands outstretched to help.

Hayley shook her head, "Go get the antidotes from the fridge."

Elba rushed into action, getting the antidotes from the large glass fridge in the corner and carefully putting it into the travel bag.

"And the samples!" Hayley called, crawling on her hands and knees to check that she had everything.

Elba handed her the bag containing the desired bottles while Hayley shoved the papers into her messenger bag and turned toward the door just as Mikaela and Zooey rushed in.

"What happened?" Hayley immediately inquired.

"The asteroid," Mikaela said numbly. "It's gone."

"Gone?" Hayley raised her eyebrows. How? Why?

"Gone." Mikaela imitated an explosion with her hands, "Blew up."

"Dear God," Hayley closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers. This was so not happening.

"Why is Zooey crying?" Elba asked in her blunt manner.

"I am not!" Zooey's voice cracked, revealing her lie.

Hayley opened her eyes, seeing Zooey rubbing tears off her cheeks.

"What is it, sweetie?" Hayley didn't want to sound severe, but she really wasn't in the mood for this.

"I just...." She looked at the ground sifting from foot to foot. "I think this is my fault."

"How is it your fault?" Elba sounded curious, not comforting.

"I-I sent out a m-message that w-wasn't enc-crypted." Zooey began to sob.

Mikaela met Hayley's eyes. _Shit._ They both ran out of the room, the other two following quickly. Down a couple corridors they stumbled upon the first sign that something had gone terribly, terribly wrong onboard. Dr. Rice lay sprawled out in a puddle of his own blood on the floor, his dark eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. Elba froze, her yellow eyes wide with shock and fear. Zooey muffled a scream with the back of her hand and threw herself into Mikaela's arms while silent tears ran down Mikaela's cheeks. Hayley dropped down to her knees and pressed her fingers to the side of the man's throat, just in case. No pulse. She sighed, reaching up to gently close his eyes whispering, "I'm so sorry." She wiped away a single tear as she stood.

"Let's go," Hayley ordered, heading back the way they came.

"Where?" Mikaela asked ushering Zooey away from the body.

"The gas!" Hayley raised her eyebrows. It was obvious, wasn't it? "Why else would someone blow up the damn asteroid except to get me out of the lab?" As she spoke, Hayley started jogging down the hall. Soon her old Vulcan training came back to her and she sprinted ahead, leaving the others in the dust. Even Elba wasn't able to keep up. Slightly out of breath, Hayley arrived back at the lab. All seemed normal, or at least how she left it. Then she saw the tall dark figure looming in the other room. The room where the gas was kept.


	4. Chapter 4

Hayley bolted forward, slamming into the body, sending it away from the gas chamber. The Romulan doctor glared up at her for a moment before jumping to his feet in one fluid movement. Hayley carefully placed her bags on the ground, not wanting them to get crushed in the fight and promptly began scanning the room for any sort of weapon. On Vulcan she had learned a few basic moves to protect herself, but she'd never been interested enough in fighting to learn more. There was no way she would win this fight unless she had a weapon.

The doctor didn't give her enough time, charging at her. Before she could duck away or even blink he was on top of her. One hand circled her neck pulling her off her feet and slamming her into the glass behind her. The glass protecting them from inhaling the toxic gas. Hayley attempted and failed to pry the fingers away from her throat where they were slowly cutting off her air supply. He chuckled, gripping tighter and pulling her forward slightly only to slam her back into the glass. Hayley heard a sickening crunch. The glass had cracked, allowing the gas to leak through slightly. She could smell a sticky-sweet scent enveloping her face. Her lungs seized, making her gasp for breath more desperately than before.

"No!" Elba's voice seemed to come from a distance.

Suddenly the hand gripping her released and Hayley crumpled to the ground, coughing and gasping. She felt hot thick liquid running down her skull to her neck. Glancing up, she could see blood around the broken area of glass. It had a larger crack than she'd assumed. Almost a hole.

Coughing and shaking, she managed to crawl to her bags as Mikaela and Zooey rushed in. They stared at her, confusion - and in Zooey's case, hysteria - coloring their features. Hayley forced herself to stand and point to the right.

"Isolation," she croaked, her throat and lungs protesting. "Now!"

The two girls hurried to where she'd sent them, though they too were already coughing. Hayley turned to find Elba. The eighteen-year-old had never looked so fierce. She stood over the bleeding body of the Romulan doctor, a bloody scalpel help tightly in her hand. Careful not to startle her, Hayley gripped her hand, loosening her grasp on the weapon and then escorting her into the isolation chamber.

All four of them were having trouble breathing now. Hayley knelt on the ground. Ripping open her bag of antidotes, she removed one and reached over to where Mikaela sat on a bench, doubled over in pain. Swiftly she jabbed the injection into Mikaela's neck.

"Dammit!" she yelped gripping her neck before she fainted from lack of air.

Hayley repeated the action with Zooey and Elba, all the while fighting off the blackness that blinked over her eyes. She could hardly inhale at all by the time she watched Elba slump to the floor. Her vision swam in and out as she slipped out the photograph still in her pocket, kissed it lightly, then placed it back in the notebook.

She passed out before she had time to give herself the antidote.

* * *

The first thing Hayley became aware of was the bright warm light caressing her skin, shining through her eyelids. She blinked, allowing her vision to adjust. A sun much bigger and brighter than Earth's shone directly above where she lay on hard rocky ground. The air was warm and dry and smelt of earth and spices. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the world she'd been absent from for so long.

Because this _was_ Vulcan. She was certain. The sun, the air, the smell. It was all as she remembered, and yet better.

She got up to take a look around, knowing this was too good to be true. She gasped, a huge grin spreading across her face. A large pond lay beside her, reflecting the sky and the tall rocks that enclosed the space. Piles of rock acted as a staircase for a way up and out. It was a place she knew well. She and Spock had come here often as children to escape their parents, his older brother, and/or their schoolmates. Whenever one of them was upset or they simply wished to be alone they would come here and talk or simply lay around watching wispy clouds roll by.

Hayley started to move to the pond, pausing when she realized she was no longer wearing her uniform. Looking down she saw the fluid baby blue fabric of a Vulcan gown. Her bare toes poked out from beneath. She grinned as she hurried toward the pond, wanting to look at herself. Kneeling down she could see her reflection perfectly. The top of the dress was corset-like, pushing her breasts up noticeably. It was off the shoulder with long sleeves that fell over the top of her hands. Her caramel colored hair was piled up in a traditional Vulcan braided twist sort of thing. Brown eyes shone with excitement. And though the freckles on the nose and cheekbones were as clear as ever, they seemed more attractive than before. She thought, altogether, she had never looked better.

She laughed as she stood and started spinning madly. The skirt blew up slightly twirling around her body. She felt like a kid again. She was having so much fun, she didn't even notice the man approaching until she heard the familiar, "Fascinating."

She froze in place, though the world seemed to spin for a while without her. Then she spun around, excitement buzzing through her veins, and froze again.

"Spock!" She shouted as she sprinted over to the tall, lean, pointed-eared man, throwing herself into his waiting arms. An emotion she’d never felt before rose up in her, warming her. Butterflies beat against her stomach wildly and a lump formed in her throat. She swallowed, forcing herself to speak around it. "I missed you." She could only work out a whisper. A silent chuckle vibrated through her from him as she nuzzled into his neck inhaling the dark manly scent.

"Hayley," he said slowly. Her feet touched the ground again as he gently set her down, keeping his hands on her waist. He looked down at her, his soft brown eyes searching her face. He wasn't one to speak his emotions, especially around other people, but his eyes were more expressive than anyone she'd ever known. His gaze alone told her he missed her, he had been deeply worried about her, and he was glad she was safe within his grasp. As if to confirm this, he gently lifted her again, her feet dangling a foot above the ground, so he could place a chaste kiss on her forehead. Well, she had thought it was chaste at the beginning. But then he lingered there, inhaling deeply as if to memorize her scent. The same way she had inhaled at his neck. Her heart went erratic.

Placing her back on the ground, Spock motioned toward their favorite old alcove where they used to hide. He led the way, holding her hand and helping her over the larger rocks, though he knew perfectly well that she could make it over them on her own. Once they had settled onto the warm stone in the shade, Hayley leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, something she had done a million times when they were alone. He reached around her waist, pulling her closer. Not something he always did, but she had just made it out of a deadly situation.

And just like that, the whole ordeal on the Titan came flooding back to her. She shuddered, leaning into Spock for support.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" she whispered.

"Quite the contrary," Spock assured her. "You are merely unconscious."

"Then how are we...." she pulled back to look him in the eye, "You mind-melded with me."

He raised his eyebrows, "It was the only logical course to take in order to speak with you."

"Okay," she said slowly, placing her head back on his shoulder. What would he want to talk about? Butterflies battered her stomach again. "So speak," she demanded when he stayed silent.

"As soon as I received your transmissions, I requested that the Enterprise divert from our mission to assist the Titan. The Captain agreed. We arrived in time to find you and three others as the only survivors."

Hayley gasped, pulling back again, "The girls! So they're okay?"

"They were unconscious as well; however Dr. McCoy was able to wake them after only a day or two. All three women are, as you say, 'on the mend.'"

She chuckled relaxing into his side once again.

"However, as you did not get the antidote, you were in critical condition. The good doctor was apprehensive of your recovery."

"So I _am_ dying...."

"Not at all. The doctor administered one of the antidotes you had with you and you stabilized."

They were silent while Hayley digested the information. She had almost died, but succeeded in saving her friends. And all the research she had gathered and the samples and antidotes were in capable hands of this Dr. McCoy. Spock could translate her notes if necessary. It didn't matter if she didn't pull through, as long as they stopped whatever the Romulans were planning.

But none of this explained why Spock was here, what he wanted to talk to her about.

"Hayley," he began again, slight emotion leaking into his voice. "Dr. McCoy....if you do not wake soon....he is worried."

She ducked her head to hide her grin, " _He_ is worried?"

He cleared his throat, "If you do not wake soon, Dr. McCoy is worried you may never wake."

"So you came here...."

Suddenly Spock sat up, gripping her shoulders and turning her so they were facing each other. She tilted her head back to look him in the eye.

"I came here," he said intensely, "to beg you to wake yourself up. You have the will power to do it. You. Can. Not. Die."

Hayley clutched his arms, smiling. "Don't worry, Spock. When have I ever let you down?"

He stared at her for a while, his eyes blank. Wrapping his arms around her, he gathered her close to his chest, tucking her head under his chin. Unable to resist, Hayley closed her eyes settling into the warmth of his body.


	5. Chapter 5

As Hayley drifted slowly back into consciousness once again, she realized she had not, in fact, died. Just like Spock had said. There was no possible way that death would be this painful. Her throat felt raw like she had eaten a bowl of nails for breakfast and her lips were dry and cracking. Her lungs protested every tiny breath she forced down and her head was throbbing to the steady beeping sound coming from somewhere above her head. Her eyelids were so heavy it took all her minimal focus and effort to pry them open to inspect her surroundings. And even then, she was constantly blinking sluggishly.

Immediately she recognized the austere room as an isolation room of a medical bay. Excepting the hard cot she lay on, the only furniture in the room was a sink set in a counter in the corner, a plastic chair next to her bed for visitors, and a night stand with a vase of flowers, a book, and a bright pink lollipop sitting atop. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth at the sight. As she turned her head to get a better look, something pulled at the hair at her temples. Reaching up, she found a thick elastic band holding a respirator mask firmly against her mouth and nose.

She gently yanked at the mask, her weak fingers slipping off the smooth plastic before she could gain purchase. Her eyelids grew steadily heavier until she couldn’t fight back anymore. Darkness enveloped her once again as she drifted off to sleep once again.

Luckily, when she finally woke again she felt no disorientation. The moment her eyes fluttered open, Hayley took hold of the mask still covering her mouth and attempted to pull it off.

“No, no, no,” a male voice scolded as large, strong fingers encircled her wrists and pushed her arms back to her sides. She looked up into startling blue eyes filled with concern and shock. Dark brown, almost black hair fell messily down his forehead and he looked as though he hadn’t shaved in a least a week.

“You look like shit,” came out of her mouth before she could stop it, followed by a long torturous round of coughing.

Chuckling weakly, the man helped her to sit up, gently rubbing circles on her back to ease her through the worst of the coughing fit. The respirator wasn’t helping whatsoever. Honestly, she felt like she was suffocating with the thing over her face the way it was. So when the man turned to pick up the chart hanging at the end of her bed, she quickly gripped the plastic mask and ripped it off her face, snapping the elastic band in the process.

“No!” the man growled before yelling for help out the cracked door.

Her lungs seized, protesting the air she was trying to take in. Slamming her eyes shut, Hayley forced herself to concentrate on relaxing her body, knowing that panicking would only make breathing more difficult. Slowly but surely she was able to take small shallow breaths. Each inhale felt like barbwire going down her throat, but it was better than that stupid mask.

Opening her eyes, a triumphant smile on her face, she found the man standing over her, holding a new mask ready, his jaw slack. She had to bite her tongue to stop from laughing at him, knowing her lungs wouldn’t thank her for that.

Gaping like a fish, the man turned to a woman with curly black hair hovering in the doorway, “It seems we don’t need this after all.”

As the two conversed quietly, Hayley took the moment to study the man. He was tall and well built, and she had to admit, there was an attractive quality to him despite the dark circles under his eyes, though she felt nothing but curiosity for him. He looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties at most. The blue uniform top as well as the medical knowledge he obviously had told her he was a doctor for Starfleet.

A spark of recognition ignited in her brain. Hadn’t Spock mentioned a doctor? What had been his name?

While she racked her brains, trying to remember what it was that Spock had told her exactly, the doctor had turned back to look her over. She stared up at him, still trying to stretch her mind back to her mind-meld conversation, as he took her vitals, mumbling under his breath as he worked. Her eyes felt heavy again, but this time she fought it, wanting to know what had happened exactly before she allowed unconsciousness to win once more.

Seeming to notice the doctor smirked, patting her arm comfortingly, “Rest. You need it.”

Without her permission, her eyelids dropped and the world once again went black, much to her annoyance.

* * *

Blinking in the dim the light of the room, Hayley pushed herself up by her elbows. She was determined to figure some things out before she was forced to sleep more. Like where her friends were and who exactly found them. She knew Spock had something to do with it, but she couldn’t be sure of anything until she found some answers.

And to do that she needed to get her butt out of bed.

That was easier said than done. She was out of breath before she even swung her legs over the edge of the cot. Panting, she pushed herself up, only to crumble to the ground. Obviously her legs were weaker than she originally assumed. Biting her lip so as not to make any noise of discomfort and alert anyone outside her door, she grabbed the edge of her cot and began to pull herself upright. It was grueling work, her limbs shaking with the effort as she huffed and puffed, trying to keep enough oxygen circulating through her body. Leaning on the cot for support, she slowly put more weight onto her legs, hoping they wouldn’t give out again. When they didn’t, she sighed, glancing around for a solution on how to make it out the door. There really was nothing in the room she could use as a makeshift cane. Her best chance would be to use the wall for support.

Huffing in annoyance, she straightened her spine and cautiously shuffled to the wall opposite her. It was a bit risky considering there was nothing to hold on to between her and the wall, but she had to chance it; it was the quickest path to the door and she had no idea when that doctor (still couldn’t recall his name) would be back to check on her again. By the time her outstretched fingers brushed against the smooth white wall, her legs felt akin to Jell-O and she wobbled uncertainly. She leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths as she tried to gain back some composure.

When she was satisfied that she wasn’t going to be improving much more anytime soon, Hayley pushed off the wall, keeping one running the smooth surface in case she felt too weak to continue as she made for the automatic door. It swished open as she approached, forcing her to pause and listen. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into an empty corridor. She glanced both ways and not seeing anyone, stepped out, shivering as her bare feet hit cool metal. Voices floated down the hall from the right, so Hayley turned left, hoping to find some sort of computer bay where she might be able to hack in and find some information before she was caught. She had never been exceptional at computers, but having two friends who specialized in it gave her a few abilities, especially if you factored in her eidetic memory. She continued to wonder aimlessly as her deep breaths soon turned to pants, her hand going from trailing lightly along the wall, to pressing heavily against it to keep her erect.

 _God, this place is a maze,_ she thought as she approached her second fork in twenty minutes. She stopped to catch her breath. The cool of the wall seeping through the ugly hospital gown she wore to her spine felt refreshing.

The shuffle of feet around the corner, alerted her to unwanted company. Her eyes darted around for an escape route, but before she could move an inch a woman of around her height with familiar black, purple tinted hair came into view. The woman’s scream startled Hayley into letting out a yell of her own.

“Hayley?” the woman asked a moment later.

Hayley, who had been slowly backing away, froze and locked gazes with a really familiar pair of bitch black eyes. A wide smile grew on her face, “Mikaela!”

The two women quickly embraced, laughing at the coincidence that they both had just been looking for each other.

“But what happened?” Mikaela asked, holding the younger woman at arm’s length to check for injuries before her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Last I remember you stabbed me with a needle.”

Hayley shrugged, unashamed, “It was the antidote.”

“Oh,” her gaze softened a second before she pulled her friend back in for a hug. “We’ve all been so worried about you! They wouldn’t tell us anything except that you were going to be fine and then they refused to let us see you!”

Hayley began coughing roughly, pushing the other woman away as she bent over, her hands braced on her knees.

“What’s going on here?” she vaguely heard a man call as heavy footsteps advanced on them.

Mikaela’s hand on her back was joined by another, larger one as booted feet appeared in her vision. Her cough calmed and she straightened to come face to chest with the doctor she’d met earlier, now clean-shaven with his hair neatly styled back away from his face. The dark circles were still visible however.

“You’re looking better,” she croaked out, hoping to avoid getting in trouble.

“Neither one of you should be out of bed,” he scolded.

Mikaela huffed, “I’m fine! I don’t need to be locked away in a room to get better you know!”

“Which is why you’re allowed to the patient’s lounge,” he still spoke harshly. “But helping your friend out of bed when she just woke up two days ago is not helping her whatsoever.”

“Wait,” Hayley held up a hand to stop Mikaela’s next tirade. “I’ve been asleep for two days?”

The doctor turned to her, his eyes softening as he spoke, a sort of awe deep in their depths, “And a week and a half before that. For all intents and purposes you should be dead by now.”

She shrugged, “I was raised on Vulcan.”

His brow furrowed, obviously confused as to how that was relevant.

“It means she’s the most stubborn human alive,” Mikaela said amusedly, drawing attention back to her.

The doctor chose to ignore her, instead focusing on Hayley as she stared to sway tiredly. “Let’s get you back to your room. Awake or not, you’re still in no condition to be up and about.”

Hayley nodded, grateful as he placed a hand at the small of her back to steady her, leading her back the way she’d came. She could hear Mikaela’s quiet shuffle following them. It didn’t take long for the doctor to notice as well.

He turned, keeping a hand on Hayley just in case, “Go back to your room Mikaela.”

“Why can’t I stay with Hayley?” she whined, crossing her arms and stomping her foot like a child.

He rolled his eyes, “Because you both need your rest, and I doubt if you share a room you’ll get much of any.”

Mikaela opened her mouth to protest, but Hayley cut her off, honestly too tired to listen to bickering at the moment, “It’s alright, Mikaela. I’m tired; I’ll probably just go straight to sleep anyway.”

She looked like she wanted to protest still, but sighed, “Fine. But I _will_ be seeing you soon.” She narrowed her eyes at the doctor at that, daring him to contradict her. When he said nothing, she nodded once as if to drive her point home, gave Hayley a quick hug goodbye, and turned on her heel to head back to her room.

Hayley glanced up at the doctor, only to find him staring off after Mikaela, his gaze firmly planted on her ass. Hayley rolled her eyes, looking away so he could collect himself. _Men_ , she thought as he shook his head and began leading her away again.

Entering the room she had left, Hayley sighed. She was admittedly exhausted after her short exertion, and welcomed flopping down onto the hard mattress. The doctor chuckled waiting as she got comfortable.

“I understand that you probably have questions.” At her nod he continued, “But I would appreciate it if you waited to ask me before gallivanting all over the ship. I’m sure the Captain wouldn’t mind so much, but your health isn’t really up for the task, understand?”

She nodded, watching as he turned to leave. Her question stopped him in the doorway.

“What’s your name?”

He glanced over his shoulder, smiling kindly, “Doctor McCoy.”

It definitely sounded familiar. She still couldn’t recall if that had been who Spock had spoken of or if she had simply heard the name at some other point in time. Perhaps one of her classes.

“Doctor Spencer,” she introduced herself.

His eyes widened comically, “You’re a doctor?”

She nodded sleepily, her eyes drooping.

“But you’re so young,” he murmured, probably not even aware she had heard.

“Vulcan,” was the last slurred word to leave her mouth before she succumbed once again to oblivion.


	6. Chapter 6

A week passed as Hayley slowly grew stronger. She was now able to take a few turns about her room without getting lightheaded and Doctor McCoy was always willing to walk with her when she wanted to get away from the horrid four blank walls. She had seen each of her friends and was happy to see that none of them had any lasting side effects. Physically anyway. Elba now seemed even more attached to Hayley. Something about her saving the alien’s life again. She wouldn’t even listen when Hayley tried to tell her to forget about it, that Elba had saved her as well. Instead, the eighteen-year-old had made herself into some sort of bodyguard whenever they gathered in the patient’s lounge together, which admittedly had only happened twice so far as Hayley wasn’t strong enough to leave her bed for too long.

After a quick emotional (on Zooey’s side) reunion, Zooey had returned to her usual self, flirting with all the male staff who dared to come within earshot. Mikaela seemed alright as well, though Hayley noticed her childish demeanor dialed down whenever McCoy came to check on them and her eyes rarely stopped following him until he left the room. Hayley kept quiet about her observations, knowing her friend would spill her guts when she was ready. In reality, there would be no stopping her then, even if Hayley wanted to.

Now knowing her friends were relatively back to normal, Hayley was able to focus on the other people around her. Firstly she wanted to see Spock, but of course she never got her wish. The day after her run in with Mikaela, she found another pink lollipop on her nightstand along with a note in familiar elegant script telling her he would visit again when she was stronger, but he was very busy at the moment with work. Naturally she understood. Spock’s career had always been one of the most important things in life to him, and she would never dream of asking him to set it aside for her. No matter how much she ached to have him near, telling her in logical terms that everything would be okay.

Not wanting to linger on depressing thoughts, she shifted focus to the only other person she had constant contact with, her doctor. McCoy was a very kind man with a sarcastic sense of humor she enjoyed wheedling out of him occasionally. It seemed all she had to do was pull on her Vulcan persona and watch as his professionalism hit the fan as he grew steadily more annoyed with her. He often made comments about how similar she was to someone and it wasn’t long before she made the connection. He was comparing her to Spock. That warmed her more than she cared to admit.

When she wasn’t purposely getting under his skin, Hayley found McCoy to be a very calm person to be around. They sat and talked about anything and everything most days. She found they had similar tastes in books and music, but not so much that they didn’t have fun little debates now and then. It almost felt like she was hanging out with a cool older brother. She’d never really felt comfortable enough to be herself around someone under such a short acquaintance, but something about the good doctor immediately put her at ease and she found herself talking about things she rarely spoke to anyone about besides Mikaela. She still avoided talking about Spock. She wasn’t sure why; she just couldn’t get herself to reveal she knew him so well without speaking to him face-to-face beforehand. No mind-melds this time.

It was with the beginning of this relaxed friendship forming that Doctor McCoy sat her down one day and asked her to tall him everything that happened. And she did. She laid it all out, keeping her emotions carefully locked up, just as she always did, as she spoke of all the deaths that had surrounded them on the Titan and the fight in the laboratory. He recorded everything for the reports, a sympathetic expression staring at her the entire time. When she finished he shut off the recorder and took her hand in between his, squeezing it comfortingly. Hayley was hard-pressed to hold in the tears that threatened to spill as the entirety of what happened finally sank in.

Swallowing around a lump in her throat, she asked, “What happened…when you found us?”

Giving her hand one last squeeze, McCoy began to recite the story of how their Communications Officers discovered the coded transmissions. Spock, being a computer expert, was asked to assist in any way possible. It took all of five seconds for him to recognize their special language and inform the Captain of the distress call. They hadn’t waited for orders, leaving immediately for the coordinates sent in the messages. When they got there, they found corpses strewn throughout the entire ship, poisonous gas filling up the halls so that they all had to wear mask to prevent exposure. Spock had been one of the search party. Apparently he had been single-minded in his pursuit for survivors. McCoy had never seen the Vulcan seem so determined to find any living soul amongst the dead. He suspected it had something to do with those messages, but was too busy examining bodies to really question it.

McCoy had been the first to find the sealed isolation chamber with the four girls locked inside. A quick scan had told them that all were alive, though barely hanging on. Spock had stormed into the chamber, hardly pausing to follow protocol to ensure the girls wouldn’t be exposed to more gas. The Vulcan had immediately gone to check Hayley, which seemed best at the time as she was worse off than the others. It wasn’t long before McCoy’s and Spock’s joint effort revealed that she had been the only one not injected with an antidote. They quickly discovered the bag of antidotes and administered a dose to Hayley, before loading the girls on stretchers for transport back to the Enterprise. Spock had volunteered to monitor Hayley so the doctor could focus on the other, less dire patients.

The three who had been dosed before their arrival had woken after a couple days, weak but healing. The whole crew had been worried that they’d been too late for Hayley, who had laid in a sort of limbo for a week and a half before waking up the first time. No one knew what had snapped her out of it, but McCoy knew it had nothing with any treatment, which hadn’t changed since the moment she entered Med-Bay. He could only assume it had something to do with her own will to survive. There really was no other explanation.

Doctor McCoy left Hayley to mull over his story, promising to return in a couple hours with her dinner tray. She lay in bed, staring at the clean white ceiling, her mind spinning in circles. Spock had been there when they found her, had stayed with her the whole time. Well at least until she reached the Medical Bay. From the doctor’s words she knew he had been considerably distressed over her condition, even before they found her. That theory was backed up by her own encounter with him during their mind-meld. She remembered how freaked he seemed when he practically begged her to wake up. He had looked like his world was crashing around him. Her breath hitched just thinking about it. She never wanted to see that look on his face ever again.

* * *

After a week of being able to move around on her own without becoming too out of breath, Doctor McCoy allowed Mikaela to move into Hayley’s room. There was now two cots and two nightstands crammed into the room, and somehow Mikaela had convinced the doctor to allow a television to be moved in as well, fully equipped with numerous films dating back to the beginning of cinema. Quickly followed by a stereo system with just as much music of all genres. McCoy grumbled but when Hayley assured him none of these things would hinder from resting regularly he let it go. Mikaela applauded (literally) her friend’s ability to get her way with simple logic, to which Hayley chucked a pillow at the other girl’s head.

And so it was on the third day after the big move that Doctor McCoy entered the former isolation room to find both girls sitting on their respective beds, each with a bowl of popcorn resting in their laps as they attempted to toss pieces into each other’s mouths, popcorn littering most of the area surrounding them. The television was on mute with some action movie playing giant explosions and music blasting from the speakers in the corner of the room. In between giggling, chewing, and tossing, the girls sang along with _The Pretty Reckless_.

_Blow the smoke right off the tube_

_Kiss my gentle burning bruise_

_I'm lost in time_

_And to all the people left behind_

_You are walking dumb and blind, blind_

_And two thousand years I've been awake_

_Waiting for the day to shake_

_Dear all of you who've wronged me_

_I am, I am a zombie_

Hayley’s voice faded out as she realized they had an audience leaning against the doorframe, one eyebrow quirked. She smiled a bit shyly at the doctor as Mikaela whipped around, her cheeks turning a delicate shade of pink.

Shaking her head to clear it, Mikaela smiled charmingly at him and waved, “Hi!”

His lips twitched, “Hi.”

“Zombie,” Mikaela said, motioning to the stereo.

His brow furrowed, “Excuse me.”

Hayley chuckled, “The song. It’s called Zombie.”

“Ah,” he pushed off the door and moved closer to check Hayley’s vitals. She was so used to this she didn’t bother to stop tossing popcorn at Mikaela who was giggling again. McCoy scowled but refrained from commenting, instead focusing on the oddity in the room. He nodded to the muted TV, “Why is that on, if you’re not watching?”

“We are occasionally,” Mikaela explained, “But it’s funner to make up our own dialogue.”

He opened his mouth and quickly snapped it shut again, shaking his head. “I don’t want to know.”

The girls giggled as he turned on his heel to escape out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

After another full week of only occasional visits from Zooey and Elba and limited access outside the room, it was fair to say that Hayley and Mikaela were much more than just antsy. Hayley was fairly certain that if they didn’t get out to stretch their legs soon she was going to go mad. It was with these thoughts in mind that Mikaela and Hayley began plotting. Or really, they had one conversation and decided to act on it before they lost their nerve.

They waited until after breakfast when McCoy would be busy with other things to slip out of the room and make a left, away from the main Med-Bay area. A few crew members stared oddly at them as they meandered down the shiny halls arm-in-arm, but none stopped them or told them to turn around. A few even said good morning. It was a bit surreal after have McCoy breathing down their necks for weeks on end. No one else seemed to have a problem with them wandering around on their own.

By the time they made it anywhere interesting, Hayley was feeling decidedly tired, a bit out of breath, and maybe just a little lightheaded but was too stubborn to admit it. They were down in engineering, though how they got down there to begin with was still mystery, when they ran into someone they hadn’t expected.

“Vi?” Mikaela said, surprised.

The brunette looked up from where she was studying a panel and her jaw dropped, “Hayley? Mikaela?”

The three girls quickly hugged, laughing. Hayley felt almost crushed in Vi’s grasp. Something her weak lungs protested greatly.

“What in the world are you two doing here?”

“What do you mean?” Hayley asked. “Don’t you know what happened?”

“I heard we had picked up some survivors from the Titan, but the general crew wasn’t privy to who exactly was brought onboard,” Vis explained bitterly. Clearly she wasn’t very happy about not knowing if her friends were alive or not.

“Vi, we’re fine,” Hayley assured her friend. “Zooey’s fine too. Everything’s…”

“Fine,” Mikaela chuckled.

“Oh, thank God,” Vi launched herself back at her friends, gripping them in another crushing hug. “Okay, new question. Why are you guys in engineering?”

Mikaela shrugged, “We’re giving ourselves a tour and kinda just wandered down here.”

Vi laughed, “I swear, only you two.”

Vi showed them to a small alcove amongst the machines where they could sit down and catch up. Hayley was extremely grateful for this. She would never admit it, but she was getting pretty exhausted. Sitting down on a large metal pipe, she felt her body try to collapse on her. It was a battle to stay upright and not slip off the sleek metal. She only half listened to Mikaela and Vi’s conversation about life on the Enterprise and meeting Elba as she grappled with gaining back enough strength to finish the self-tour. Mikaela would want to continue until they were caught by McCoy, no doubt, so she still had a while to go before she could collapse back in bed. She was starting to regret disobeying the doctor.

“Vi?” a male Scottish accent called, jerking Hayley back into alertness. Vi’s eyes had widened comically in shock and Mikaela swore quietly, glancing left and right for an escape. Of course there was none. The alcove only had one exit, and the owner of the voice was currently coming closer, still calling out for the missing engineer.

Hayley sighed, leaning back against the pipe again. It wasn’t as if the man would do anything to them. They’d be sent back to the Med-Bay and probably get a good tongue lashing from McCoy, but that was the extent of it. If anything, Hayley felt a little relieved. She now had a solid excuse to collapse into bed the moment they got back. Anything to avoid a scolding like she was a six-year-old caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

The man came around the corner and immediately froze. Hayley couldn’t blame him. It was every day a Chief Engineer (going by his uniform) went out in search of one of his crew and found her with two extra people who happened to still be dressed in the gray sweats and black long sleeved shirts given to them upon arrival. It was kind of funny seeing him standing there, gaping like a fish.

Then of course, Mikaela had to be Mikaela and cheerfully wave at him like this happened every day.

“Hi!” she said in an overly bright voice.

Hayley rolled her eyes and the man chuckled.

“Vi?” he asked hesitantly.

“Scotty, these are my friends, Counselor Mikaela Troi and Doctor Hayley Spencer. They were two of the people rescued from the Titan.”

The man nodded in understanding, stepping closer to shake their hands and introduce himself, “Montgomery Scott. You can call me Scotty. May I ask, what are you doin’ down here?”

“We were just…kinda…” Mikaela trailed off, unsure.

“Wandering,” Hayley supplied.

“Yes, thank you. Wandering,” she smiled, “And we got a bit turned around.”

“Bones keep you trapped in Med-Bay then, aye?” Scotty said chuckling.

Mikaela and Hayley glanced at each other. “Bones?” they asked in unison.

“Doctor McCoy,” Scotty clarified. “Aye, he’s not one to let you out before he’s sure you’re well enough. I assume you snuck out?”

Hayley smiled sheepishly, “Kind of.”

He took a deep breath and nodded, “Well then there’s only one thing I can do.” He started tapping on the PADD in his hands before handing it over to Mikaela, “Here’s a map of the ship. This here is the best way to get to the bridge if you don’t want any medical personnel to find you.”

Mikaela grinned evilly up at the man before tackling him in a ‘thank you’ hug. Hayley groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

With Scotty’s map guiding them, they were able to make it all the way to the correct turbolift without incident. Getting access to make said turbolift take them to the bridge was another matter. Luckily (or unluckily for Hayley who thought this was a really, really stupid idea) Scotty had thought of this as well. Hayley hooked the PADD up to a control panel, hoping she wasn’t going to make the lift explode or something equally awful, and typed in the commands Scotty gave her. The lift began to rise with a quiet ding.

Mikaela was practically vibrating with excitement as they made their way to the one place they _knew_ they weren’t allowed, even if they had been released from Medical. There was another ding and the doors whooshed open.

Revealing none other than a smirking McCoy.

“Okay, seriously?” Mikaela whined. “How did you know?”

“Scotty,” he drawled in a southern accent Hayley hadn’t noticed before (which was odd considering she normally noticed everything). “He called me right after you left so I wouldn’t worry about my wandering patients. Said he gave you the long way here.”

Hayley couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up at the sight of Mikaela’s horrorstruck expression.

“Traitor,” Mikaela growled.

“Well played,” Hayley corrected with a chuckle.

“Kaela?” they were interrupted by a male voice.

Mikaela looked around McCoy, her face splitting into a grin, “Jim!” She pushed her way in and tackled the Captain who had come over to see what was going on. They both laughed as he swung her around, ignoring the stares of the crew.

Hayley sighed, “You again?”

Setting down Mikaela, Kirk smirked over at Hayley, “Just can’t get rid of me, can you sunshine?”

Hayley rolled her eyes, stepping forward into the room and looking around with interest.

“You two know each other?” McCoy asked. Was that a hint of jealousy she detected?

“They dated off and on,” Hayley explained simply, knowing anything Mikaela would say would take an hour.

“Of course,” the doctor rolled his eyes. “Anyway you two should be going back now.”

“No,” Mikaela whined, pouting at Jim. “I wanted to see the bridge.”

That was all it took for Mikaela to weasel her way into sitting in the Captain’s chair as McCoy frowned from the back. Hayley stood off to the side, gazing around at the bright, chrome enhanced room. It all seemed more posh than necessary. Her eyes drifted over the different crew members who were now studiously ignoring them, working away at their stations. One in particular caught her eye. He was tall and lean with neat black hair. His blue uniform top revealed he was a Commander, and Second in Command at that. But it was the ears that gave him away. Long and pointed, only a Vulcan would have those ears. And she knew of only one Vulcan who was a Second in Command on the Enterprise.

Biting back a grin, Hayley glanced at the others, assuring herself that they were all fully engrossed in their own little bubble. Jim flirting shamelessly, Mikaela milking it for all it was worth, McCoy frowning from afar. She slowly shuffled over to the science officer’s position near the other turbolift. She couldn’t move any faster than that. Her energy was plummeting more and more the longer she stayed on her feet. If she didn’t sit down soon, she was fairly certain she’d just drop to the ground. Then McCoy would never allow her to leave Medical again.

Coming up behind the Vulcan, Hayley silently reached out and flicked one of his ears. Startled, he turned to gaze at the smiling woman. His eyes softened momentarily before he turned back around.

“Doctor Spencer,” he greeted formally.

Hayley fought back the urge to roll her eyes, “Spock.”

“I don’t believe Doctor McCoy has released you from Medical yet,” he continued in a monotone, gaze fixed on the screen in front of him.

“He hasn’t,” she answered, matching his tone word for word. She picked out a nice large blank spot on the surface next to him and hopped up as carefully as possible. Her feet swung lightly back and forth as she situated herself. He glanced at her and she saw a spark of amusement before he turned away again. She continued to explain, “Mikaela simply wished to get out and stretch her legs and I thought it best to join her and, hopefully, keep her out of trouble.”

“Mr. Spock?” Kirk’s voice drifted over to them.

Hayley looked up and realized that, no matter how distracted they were, her going over to a Vulcan probably drew their attention immediately. It seemed the whole of the bridge was gaping at them. Mikaela looked ready to burst out laughing. She of course knew all about Spock, though they had never actually met when he visited Hayley on Earth. Kirk looked utterly baffled by his Science officer having a semi-normal conversation with any human who had just come onto the ship. McCoy looked like he had just found a missing piece to a particularly difficult puzzle. He smirked smugly at her and when she raised her eyebrow questioningly he snorted. Hayley glanced at Spock to see he wore the same exact expression as her.

“Yes, Captain?” Spock prompted when Kirk failed to speak.

“Do you, um, know Miss Spencer?” he asked hesitantly.

“Doctor,” four voice corrected making them all pause. Hayley, Spock, Mikaela, and McCoy had all spoken at once. Mikaela and Spock she could understand, but why had McCoy said anything? Kneejerk reaction, maybe?

“Wha’?” Kirk asked, oh so eloquently.

McCoy snorted again, “She’s a doctor, genius.”

Hayley smiled at him, gratified. She really was starting to have a weird friendship with that man.

“Seriously?” he sounded incredulous.

Now she knew Spock had raised his eyebrow at the same time as her. The Captain blinked for a moment before pointing accusingly at them.

“That’s freaky,” he claimed. “You two have to know each other.”

“We grew up together on Vulcan,” Hayley explained calmly.

“Seriously?”

“Would you stop saying that?” she deadpanned.

He just blinked at her some more.

McCoy chuckled, “I think you broke him.”

Mikaela started giggling madly, “I am so glad we snuck out. That right there. That expression was so worth it.”

Hayley rolled her eyes and turned to speak to Spock, this time using their own private language, “Is it always like this?” She didn’t have to explain. He knew what she meant.

He too spoke in their made up language, “Quite often, yes. The Captain appreciates more informal relationships with many of the crew.”

She nodded in understanding before noticing everyone’s shocked faces again. Only Mikaela was smirking knowingly.

“What is it now, Captain?” Hayley asked calmly.

“What the hell?” was the only answer she got.

Sighing, she explained, “We were speaking in a language we made up as children. Surely you did the same at some point when you were young?”

“Well, yeah,” he said slowly, looking at her like she was a strange new being he had just encountered. She was sure, in a way, she was to him. “But I never used it for more than a day or two.”

She shrugged, “Well it certainly came in handy recently, that’s for sure.”

“Huh?”

She turned back to Spock, speaking in their language, “Eloquent, isn’t he?”

“Hayley,” he warned under his breath, but his eyes twinkled a little.

“The messages,” another officer said from across the room. “The distress calls we got from the Titan were all in another language. No one could decipher them until we showed them to Mr. Spock.”

“I sent them out in our own personal language so I knew no one else could intercept them,” Hayley smiled at the nice young man who helped her.

Kirk looked thoughtful as he gazed at the two old friends, “You know, if you two taught this language to the rest of Starfleet, we could use it as a way to send coded messages without worry of enemies discovering the content.”

Hayley and Spock were both shaking their heads before he finished speaking. “It took me five years after Spock and I invented it before I could speak it fluently, and I was one of the creators. What makes you think any of you could learn it?”

His eyes flashed with the challenge, “Try me.”

Hayley looked imploringly at Spock. She really, really didn’t want to explain this one.

Spock stood, going into lecture mode, as Hayley used to call it, “It’s quite simple really…”

She tuned him out as he spoke, eyeing his vacated chair. As much as it was nice to be off her feet, regardless of how, that chair looked a whole lot more comfortable than the counter space she was using. Spock was so absorbed in attempting to make Kirk understand the complexities of a mathematically based language that worked with sounds rather than letters, much like music, that he wouldn’t notice if she just slipped into his seat. She watched him carefully as she slid off the table and inched toward the chair. A glance to the rest of the room told her many people saw her moving. McCoy was smirking again, shaking with silent laughter. Mikaela was grinning while spinning in the Captain’s chair. There were also a few crew members who were looking highly amused at her attempted thievery of the Science Officer’s seat.

She plopped silently down on the swivel chair and curled her bare feet up under her, getting comfy. She froze when, in the middle of his lecture, Spock told her, “Out of the chair,” before continuing on like he hadn’t paused to scold her. He hadn’t even turned around. More than one person was trying to hide their snickers now. Sighing, Hayley stuck her tongue out at the back of her best friend’s head before getting more comfortable. If he wanted her out, he was going to have to move her himself.

What she temporarily forgot was that Spock had no concerns with physically moving her about like some sort of rag doll. Finished with his longwinded speech, he turned around, and without hesitating, walked around till he was behind her, took hold of her under her arms, and easily lifted her out of the seat, depositing her back where she had started.

“Oh, come on,” she huffed, but he simply sat back down and continued working.

“Okay, so we won’t be using it,” Kirk said, laughter in his voice.

“I think it’s time you two head back to Medical now,” McCoy decided, still chuckling.

Hayley nodded and slid off her perch, patting Spock on the shoulder as a goodbye. If they had been alone, she wouldn’t have hesitated giving him a peck on the cheek, but too many people were present to show that kind of affection. McCoy waited until both of his patients were in the turbolift before joining them. He escorted them all the way to the room, ordering them to stay there until he said they could leave and if they left without permission on more time he was putting a nice old-fashioned padlock on the door.

The next day all four survivors of the Titan were discharged from Medical and given private quarters.


	8. Chapter 8

As all of their belongings had to be left behind on the Titan, none of the girls had any clothing except the ones they arrived in. To compensate, the Captain asked volunteers to donate clothes to them and gave them spare uniforms to wear until they made it back to Earth. To Hayley, this was disturbing on many levels. The thought of wearing clothes from some anonymous stranger made her skin crawl. Luckily one of the nurses, Amara Franks, was the same size as her, and a major shopaholic. She had more than enough unworn clothing to give away, and more than happy to make extra room in her closet for shopping sprees.

Even so, Hayley still wished for something familiar to wear. That was why she was quick to sneak into Spock’s private quarters and pilfer some of his belongings. She was lucky he had told her the entry code while escorting her through a guided tour of the ship the other day. He had wanted her to know it in case she needed anything. So really he had offered her all the things she took, right?

The next day Hayley was wandering barefoot down a corridor toward one of the Rec Rooms in a pair of Amara’s yoga pants and Spock’s old uniform top, head bowed over the PADD she’d taken from Spock’s room as well. He wouldn’t mind and she really needed something to catch her up on all she’d missed while she was out cold in Sick Bay. Not to mention Spock had transferred all her handwritten notes to files on his PADD so it was easier to access. She still didn’t know why she preferred handwritten. Maybe it was just something about seeing the notes in her own handwriting…

Whatever it was, her notes had been destroyed once Spock was finished so no one could try to decode them, even if she was sure they would fail. Better not to take the chance. So now Spock was the owner of the only copies. And now her, seeing as she had his PADD.

“Hayley,” someone called.

She froze and looked around. McCoy was coming up behind her frowning. It wasn’t really surprising to see a frown on his face. He could be one of the grumpiest men she knew sometimes.

“Hey Bones.” It hadn’t taken long for her to adopt the nickname. It just seemed to fit the doctor, and he never told her to stop, so Bones it was.

“Watch where you’re going, will ya?” he grumbled at her.

“Huh?” she looked forward to find she had been about to run straight into a wall, missing the fact that the corridor had turned off around two corners. “Oh. Thanks for the warning.” She turned on her heel and started off down the right hallway, head still bent over the screen in her hand.

Sighing he followed behind her, “What are you looking at?”

“My notes,” she said simply, feeling him tug on her elbow to guide her around something or someone. She didn’t bother to look up. “Just going over everything again.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that, actually,” he sounded curious. Switching off the PADD, Hayley gave him her undivided attention. “There was only a couple of hypos in your pack. The rest of the antidote was in old fashioned syringes.”

“I know there’s a question in there somewhere,” she teased.

He rolled his eyes, “Why would you use syringes? No one’s used those in over a century.”

“When I first arrived on the Titan, the scientists working on this had gone through so many resources for making hypos that we were running short. Instead of spending more money on getting more sent to us, I thought we could just use the old system until we were sure of the successfulness of the antidote. I was in the process of converting it all to hypos when we were attacked.”

His brow furrowed, “You weren’t attacked.”

“He blew up the asteroid, Bones, and killed almost everybody on board. I consider that an attack.”

He nodded in agreement and the two doctors continued to the Rec Room in comfortable silence.

“Hungry?” he asked as they walked in.

“A little.” She followed him to the replicator to get some breakfast. Turning back to the room, Hayley spotted a mostly empty table at the far side of the room where Spock was playing three dimensional chess with a nurse that looked vaguely familiar. Nurse Franks was sitting nearby as well.

“Hey,” Amara greeted as she sat down next to her, across from Spock who nodded in greeting as well. McCoy sat down next to the Vulcan, ignoring everybody.

“Good morning,” Hayley told the table at large before turning back to her PADD.

“Didn’t I give you any shirts?” Amara asked.

“Of course you did,” Hayley assured her. “This one’s just comfortable, is all.”

She nodded, “What poor sap did you talk into giving up his uniform top?”

“Spock,” she said calmly. McCoy choked on the coffee he had just sipped. “Though he had little choice in the matter.”

“I was not even aware you had taken it,” Spock informed them, moving a knight from one level to another. “I see you have stolen my PADD as well.”

“Borrowed,” she defended herself. “I borrowed it.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Previous experience would suggest that statement is false.”

“Previous experience?” Amara asked, her tone amused.

“Hayley frequently took my belongings without permission while on Vulcan and failed to return them. I have grown quite accustomed to it.”

“Okay fine,” Hayley admitted defeat. “I stole your PADD.”

He nodded, “I had already foreseen this circumstance as a possiblity and have ordered myself a new PADD.”

“Thank you,” she said turning back to her notes.

“You are welcome.”

“Damn,” McCoy muttered, causing her to look up at his incredulous expression.

“Hmm?”

“You two really have been friends a long time haven’t you?”

She shrugged, “His parents are my Godparents. Whenever my father had to go off world my mother would go with him an I’d stay with them.”

“Wow,” the doctor shook his head. “How did you survive?”

She laughed, “It wasn’t that bad.”

“What wasn’t?” Kirk appeared at McCoy’s side along with an Asian man and a younger man.

“Hayley’s Godparents were Spock’s parents,” McCoy said still sounding in shock.

“Yes, and they were great parents,” she said sternly before Jim could comment. It was like they forgot Spock was sitting right there. Not to mention she really didn’t like talking about herself that much. “Now can we please get off the subject of my childhood. I hardly think that matters at the moment.”

Everyone fell into smaller conversations. Hayley turned to watch Spock quickly finishing the chess game against the nurse she couldn’t remember the name of.

“Checkmate,” he said in his usual tone.

The nurse’s brow furrowed, “I don’t understand. I haven’t lost a game since I was ten.”

“Don’t feel too bad. It’s very hard to beat a Vulcan in a game of strategy,” she tried to make the nurse feel better.

“Oh yeah?” Kirk smirked, leaning forward to see the game better. “Then why do I always beat him?”

By the slight turn down of his lips, Hayley saw that this on statement somehow upset Spock. Probably made him frustrated to have an opponent that he couldn’t easily out maneuver. Knowing Kirk, his strategy would be completely illogical compared to the Vulcan’s which would be why Kirk always won. Of course she wouldn’t need to point that out. Her friend would no doubt have done that many times already.

“Knowing you, you probably cheated,” she said instead.

Bones chuckled, “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Spock, ignoring the others as the two nurses got up to head to Sick Bay, turned to Hayley, offering to play her in chess. Without a word the two reset the board and began. As always Hayley merely played whatever move she saw first, but with Spock the outcome was always different. He’d been losing on purpose since she was five just so she would win against someone. He was always baffled that she enjoyed playing, even when she lost horribly and felt she deserved to win even just once, but that one time had turned into every time they played once he saw how happy it made her. Of course he had only admitted all this to her under much coercion. They hadn’t mentioned it since, both happy to just play along.

“No, you shouldn’t have moved that,” Kirk said, getting sucked into the game after Mikaela, Zooey, Elba, Vi, and Scotty had joined them at the table. “Now he’ll have you in three moves.”

“Don’t bother,” Mikaela told him. “She just plays whatever move she sees first. She doesn’t care about winning.”

He frowned, “Everyone cares about winning.”

“Not her. She just likes to play for fun.”

“I am sitting right here you know,” Hayley said rolling her eyes.

Spock frowned, “Of course you are. We are all able to see you sitting here. Why would you feel the need to state it?”

She grinned. This was why she loved being around Vulcans. They were so adorably unaware sometimes. “No, sweetie. I meant they shouldn’t talk about me like I’m not here.”

He nodded, moving a piece in order to allow her to take his queen.

“Sweetie?” Bones chuckled.

“She calls everyone sweetie,” Zooey explained.

“Checkmate,” Hayley said a moment later, smiling widely.

The table fell silent.

“How the hell…” Mikaela looked over the chess board, finding mostly Hayley’s white pieces there.

“He let you win,” Kirk said shaking his head. “There’s no other way.”

“Of course he did,” Hayley said, setting the board back up. “He always does.”

“You are a strange, strange man,” Zooey told Spock before turning back to talking with Vi and Scotty.

Kirk was blinking pathetically at his First Officer, “It’s like I don’t even know you.”

“Do we have time for another game before your shift starts?” Hayley asked Spock, ignoring the affronted Captain.

“I believe we do,” the Vulcan nodded leaning toward the game with folded hands.

They played their second game in companionable silence, listening to their friends’ conversations. It didn’t surprise her that Jim was now steadily flirting with each of the females at the table in turn. What did surprise her was the reactions. Zooey had predictably flirted back unashamedly, but Mikaela, who had a very flirtatious relationship with Jim, had just smiled and turned away, shooting glances in McCoy’s direction. Hayley sighed. She would surely be hearing all about that later. Vi, who was also a bit of a flirt, seemed to shy away as well. Instead she would completely ignore the Captain, turning fully to the Chief Engineer. Elba, though, had the best reaction in Hayley’s opinion.

Jim had just gave her a very suggestive opening line with his signature smirk when she turned to McCoy with an innocently curious expression, “Is this why you called him a man-whore?”

The whole table erupted in hysteria as McCoy choked on his coffee for a second time that morning and Jim glared at him. Only Spock seemed rather confused. He probably didn’t know what a man-whore was. She shot him a look to let him know she’d explain later.

“Yes, sweetie,” Hayley answered for McCoy who was blushing and sputtering too much to be coherent. “That’s exactly why he’s a man-whore.”

“Hey!” Jim protested over the new bouts of laughter. She raised an eyebrow, daring him to defend his non-existent virtue.

The table broke up quickly after that, crew members going to their posts for their shift while Mikaela led Zooey and Elba over to one of the game areas for a round of cards. Hayley was about to join them after making dinner plans with Spock when she was called over to where Jim and Bones were standing near the door.

“Yes?” she asked politely.

“Bones here tells me only you can sort out all those antidotes and whatnot for that gas from the asteroid.” Jim was still frowning at her, but had reverted to his all-business tone.

She shrugged, “I’m the only one with all my notes, but I can always translate for him, if need be.”

“Either way that adds up to only you can work on this,” he said nodding. “Well then, if I could I’d order you to Medical to keep working on this, but as it is, you’re not part of my crew and you’re still considered a patient to Doctor McCoy until he clears your health completely. So all I can really do is ask really nicely if you wouldn’t mind working with Bones.”

She rolled her eyes. “That wasn’t really a question, but I’d be happy to. I was planning on it anyway.”

“Now hold on a minute,” McCoy held up a hand. “You are still my patient and I have to give the go ahead before you do anything.”

“No offense Bones,” she said smiling. “But I’m going to work on this whether you want me to or not. It’ll be easier for you if you just smile and nod.”

He grimaced, “You’re more stubborn than Jim.”

She shrugged. There really wasn’t anything she could say to that. He of course had to give in. With no other option, Jim left them to head to the bridge while McCoy led her back to Med-Bay where she would now be working on the vaccine.


	9. Chapter 9

After dinner that night Hayley and Spock retreated to one of the couches in the Rec Room. Hayley sat cross-legged with her back to the Vulcan, his hands tangled in her hair as he expertly weaved it into a traditional Vulcan style. It was something he’d done a million times for her, and one of the things she missed most. The complexity of the braiding made it impossible for her to do it herself and there was just something so relaxing about having someone does your hair for you. Her head was bowed over the book Spock had left her while she was unconscious and she was sucking on one of the bright pink lollipops he was always giving her. For the first time since awaking on the Enterprise, Hayley felt truly at peace. And it had been years since she’d been this content, despite the Romulan threat still hanging over heads.

She was so wrapped up in her own little bubble of bliss that it wasn’t until McCoy’s voice drifted through her delightfully foggy mind that she realized someone had approached them.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, half-amused, half-confused.

She peeked at him from the corner of her eye, not wanting to move and dislodge Spock’s sure fingers. Before she could think of an answer, Mikaela appeared out of nowhere.

“Hey, that looks cool,” she said, bending over to see the tiny braids Spock had formed.

Hayley set aside her book and patted the cushion in front of her, “Sit.”

Mikaela smirked, “Really?”

She tried to nod, but Spock tightened his fingers, keeping her still.

Grinning widely, Mikaela plopped down in front of her and she immediately began to separate the purplish black hair into small sections.

“What are you eating?” McCoy huffed.

Knowing what was coming, Hayley clamped her teeth down on the lollipop stick just in time to feel Bones grab it and attempt to rip it out of her mouth. She raised an eyebrow at him as he continued to try to shake it free.

Chuckling, he shook his head, “Stubborn girl. Do you know how unhealthy those things are?”

Hayley shifted all the hair in her hands to her left hand so she could take point over her shoulder, “Blame Spock, he’s the one that first started giving them to me and got me addicted.”

“So now he’s your supplier,” Mikaela joked.

She laughed, “Basically.”

Finally, Bones sat down in the chair nearby and they lapsed into silence. Unfortunately that was shattered the moment Jim walked in.

“Okay, no,” he said storming over, pointing an accusatory finger at Hayley. “This needs to stop. You are turning my First Officer soft.”

“Jim,” McCoy said, a hint of warning in his tone.

The fingers stilled in Hayley’s hair. “Captain,” Spock calmly called.

“Nope, sorry,” Kirk cut them off, “This is it. I won’t have my crew messed with.”

Without glancing up from what she was doing, Hayley replied, “What exactly are you talking about?”

“First with taking his things, then the chess game, now you’ve turned him into your personal hairdresser! I never thought I’d say this, but you are messing with Spock’s head, and I don’t like it.”

Hayley smiled softly, feeling Spock finishing up on her hair. This was something she could handle. Quickly, she placed a pin on her friends head, finishing the much simpler style, and turned to look at the irate Captain.

“While I appreciate your concern over Spock’s safety, it is not needed. Has it ever occurred to you that before he was _your_ First Officer, he was _my_ best friend.”

“Your…” Kirk’s eyes widened. Clearly, though he knew they had been raised together, he hadn’t contemplated them being this close. “But I thought…Mikaela…”

“I can have more than one best friend you know,” she said matter-of-factly. “And just so you know, the way Spock and I treat each other goes back since we were children. I assure you I am not ‘messing with his head’ in any way.”

Jim looked dumbfounded.

“You okay there, cupcake?” Mikaela asked, smirking. “Maybe you need to go take a nap or something. You’ve seemed kinda off since we got here.”

“Cupcake?” Bones raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged, “Just a nickname. I give them to everyone. Hayley was Shortcake for a while, but she stopped answering me when I called her that, so I stopped.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get one soon,” Hayley told him laughingly.

McCoy rolled his eyes.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Jim finally said, sitting on the table in front of them. He pointed to Spock, “You’re best friend is a girl.”

“Woman,” Mikaela corrected with a bite of venom.

“Woman, sorry,” Kirk shrugged unapologetically.

“I am aware Hayley is female,” Spock said stoically, “However, I do not understand how that is relevant.”

Mikaela rolled her eyes, “Just ‘cause you can’t have a female friend without thinking about her naked, doesn’t mean all guys are like that, Jim.”

McCoy promptly started to choke on his coffee. He seemed to do that a lot when they all hung out like this. Was their conversation really that surprising that he constantly ended up choking on whatever was in his mouth? And why was that always coffee? Her mind was starting to wander badly; she must be getting tired.

“And I don’t see why this surprises you so much,” Mikaela continued. “You knew they were close.”

“Well yeah, but I mean…he was doing her hair! That’s not normal, right Bones?”

“Please don’t bring me into this,” McCoy shook his head before turning on his PADD and disappearing behind it.

Awkward silence reigned as no one knew what to say to such a blatantly stupid comment. Hayley and Spock followed McCoy’s lead, Spock turning on his old PADD and Hayley picking up her book once more.

Luckily, Vi and Zooey decided to show up then, Elba skipping along behind them.

“Ah, Doc McCoy,” Zooey called out teasingly, making Bones groan. “Just the man we wanted to see.”

Sighing, he looked up, “Yes Miss Storm? What is it?”

The blonde plopped down on his armrest and smiled charmingly down at him, “Well, we were wondering–”

“Excuse me?” Vi asked from her seat across from them. Elba had decided to sit on the floor between Hayley and Mikaela.

“ _I_ was wondering – since we’re all doing so well now, and all – if we would be allowed to use the gym.” She turned on her big pleading, puppy dog eyes.

McCoy eyed her for a moment, “I suppose that’s not too bad of an idea. As long as you pace yourselves, it’ll probably help a lot actually. Now get off my chair.”

Happily, Zooey bounced up and went to pull Vi off to the gym.

“Not so fast,” he called, making her freeze mid-step. “I’m not finished. You’ll have to have someone there with you to make sure you don’t push yourselves too much. From what I can tell you all have a bit of a tendency to go too far too fast,” he finished in a grumble.

Zooey widened her eyes again.

“No, I’m not going. You’ll have to find someone else.”

She turned to Kirk.

He laughed, “Sorry, ladies. I’d love to, but I have to get back to the bridge. You too, Mr. Spock.”

“Aye, Captain,” Spock stood fluidly and followed Kirk out the door.

“Damn,” Zooey crossed her arms and stamped her foot like a petulant child. “Now what?”

“You could ask Sulu,” McCoy offered, not looking up from his PADD.

“Who?” Mikaela asked curiously.

“He’s one of the helmsmen and I’m pretty sure he’s just getting off duty. I’m sure he won’t mind helping out.”

“He is pretty cool, guys,” Vi assured them. “He was at lunch with us, remember?”

Hayley and Mikaela glanced at each other and shrugged.

“He was the Asian.”

“Oh. Okay.” Mikaela stood up, “I’ll come too.”

“You should probably go too,” McCoy told Hayley, eyeing her where she hadn’t budged on the sofa. “It’ll be good for you.”

She shrugged again and set aside her book before standing with Elba and trailing after her friends. In all honesty, she knew she should go to the gym, build up the strength the poison had cost her, but she just wasn’t in the mood. She wanted to curl up with her book, lay down on a bed, and just be lazy for the rest of the day. She didn’t mind if the others wanted to hang out with her, but she just didn’t want to do anything. Instead she found herself heading towards Lieutenant Sulu’s private quarters to ask him to monitor their progress. She knew she had nothing to complain about at this moment, not really. But that didn’t stop the only thought floating through her mind as Vi knocked on a door: her life sucked.


	10. Chapter 10

Someone shook her shoulder sharply, “Hayley!”

Jerking upright, Hayley quickly realized she’d fallen asleep at her desk. Again. Bones was going to kill her. Sure enough, Doctor McCoy was standing over her, scowling.

“What did I say about overworking yourself?” he hissed.

“Sorry,” she mumbled rubbing her eyes.

He continued to grumble. Ever since she began working here at all hours of the day she and McCoy had grown close. He was like a big brother to her now. It was nice to have someone looking out for her all the time when she didn’t really need to look out for them. She would if she had to, but for now it was nice not to be the caretaker for once. The only other person she felt that way about was Spock, but that was different. Her relationship with Spock was unique to a point that she really couldn’t label it anymore. They spent most of their free time together and when others were around spoke mainly in their own language. It was fun to see their friends getting so frustrated with them. Many times he’d come down to Medical to help her work or simply to keep her company. Bones often used him as a way to pull her away from her desk to eat or rest like a normal human. It was like it was when she was younger, yet different. Though for the life of her she couldn’t explain why. It bugged the crap out of her to say the least.

“C’mon,” McCoy urged her out of her chair, breaking through her reverie. “The Captain wants to talk to you.”

She nodded, stumbling after him as he walked out of Sick Bay.

“You’re lucky I convinced him to let you sleep a little. You seemed to need it,” he continued to grouch as they made their way through the corridor leading to the turbolift.

“You could have woke me earlier,” she told him, stifling a yawn. “I wouldn’t have minded, you know.”

He snorted, “Actually I did try to wake you at first, but then you bit me.”

She stopped in the middle of the hall, causing a couple of people to bump into her as she stared in disbelief at McCoy, “I did not!”

In answer he lifted his right hand. Sure enough, there was a crescent moon imprint she was sure would match the shape of her teeth.

“Oh,” she said slowly, blinking in shock. “Sorry.”

He grunted in response, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, and turned to continue on. Hayley trotted along behind, trying to keep up with his long strides. It wasn’t really surprising that she had bitten him. It wasn’t the first time she’d reacted to her dreams and ended up hurting innocent bystanders. Bones apparently hadn’t learned that just yet.

The tension was palpable as they entered the bridge. Kirk sat in the Captain’s chair as usual, but instead of being languidly sprawled out like a cat dozing in the sun, he sat upright, rigid. Everyone sat in their assigned spots, staring at their monitors, though it was obvious they were too still to actually be doing anything other waiting for orders. Only Spock seemed even remotely at ease, though even he held a small amount of tension in his shoulders. He turned slightly from his position standing behind the Captain’s chair to watch Hayley slowly make her way to his side.

“What’s going on?” she asked quietly in their own tongue.

Spock gave her a look that clearly said “stay calm” before turning to Kirk, “Captain.”

Jim spun in the chair to look at Hayley, “Ah, Doctor Spencer.” It was never good when he used her official title. “It seems Admirals Pike and Carlson are in a bit of a dispute over who has jurisdiction over your case.”

“My case?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Admiral Carlson was in charge of the Titan where your research began, but now you’re working on the Enterprise which is Admiral Pike’s.”

Hayley stiffened, “So basically they’re having a pissing match over _my_ hard work.”

Jim smirked, “Basically.”

“Fantastic,” she huffed.

A large lean hand squeezed her shoulder bracingly, steadying her tumultuous emotions. She didn’t really need it. After all these years she was an expert (as much as a human can be) on keeping her emotions in check. But it was appreciated nonetheless. She glanced up at him and flashed a quick grin in gratitude. He tilted his head down fractionally in understanding. Another hand suddenly gripping hers had her turning back to the Captain. He smiled charmingly at her, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of her hand.

“Don’t worry,” he practically purred. “I’ve already told them that it was your work and only you should be able to dictate who is in control.”

“Thank you,” she squeezed his hand once before dropping it and folding her hands behind her back. “But I prefer to speak for myself on such matters.”

Bones started to cough, trying to cover up a chuckle. Kirk frowned and turned away. Hayley glanced up at Spock questioningly, but he looked just as confused as she, so she looked over her shoulder to where Bones hovered in the background.

“Am I missing something?”

“Don’t,” Jim warned.

A sly smile slowly stretched across McCoy’s face, “He bet me he could make you fall for him.”

Spock’s hand, which had lingered on her shoulder, tightened.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath, Captain,” Hayley deadpanned before changing the subject. “Is there any other reason you need me, or may I retire to Med-Bay to continue working?”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Bones scolded. “You are going straight to bed, missy. I’m not ever trying to peal you off your desk because you fell asleep while working again.”

Spock squeezed her shoulder to gain her attention, “The doctor is correct. You must rest in your room, Hayley.”

She made a small noise of protest, but it was pointless. There was no winning when Spock and McCoy were in agreement against her.

“I’m afraid that’ll have to wait,” Kirk interrupted. “The Admirals are about to call again, and this time they insist on speaking with you.”

“Oh good,” she said calmly, stepping up to stand level with Kirk as they waited for the call to come in. “I want to speak with them.”

“Oh boy,” she heard Bones mutter.

The tension racketed up a few more notches as Hayley stood, hands still behind her back, waiting patiently. Kirk shifted nervously for a moment and Bones got comfortable leaning against a back wall. The crew went back to staring at their screens like they were working, all the while waiting for the entertainment to begin. Only Spock stayed stoically still beside her, silently giving his support for any and all of her decisions, as per usual.

Sulu, who was sitting at the helm turned and gave their small group a nod, signaling that they were being hailed. He flashed Hayley a small smile before turning back around to set up the call.

Hayley liked to think that she had two circles of friends. Spock, Mikaela, and (most recently added) Bones made up her inner circle, the people she trusted and relied on most. The outer circle was much larger, and seemed to still be growing. Zooey and Vi had been a part of that since Academy, and though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, even Jim was a part of that group. And Elba had popped in the moment she woke up and decided to attach herself to the girls’ sides. But now Sulu had wormed his way into that circle with great hand-to-hand combat training and perfect listening skills. Not to mention Scotty, who could make her laugh even when being completely serious, and Chekov who was the adorable genius little brother she never knew she wanted. Hayley was almost overwhelmed by how big her social circle had gotten, never having been one to socialize much. And yet here she was, surrounded by people she was slowly considering could become a sort of dysfunctional family-like group. She shook her head. Now was not the time to be lingering on thoughts like that. She needed to be focused on the task at hand if she wanted any say in her work.

The large screen before them which had previously shown the wide expanse of black space flecked with stars and far off planets where they were currently drifting without purpose, flickered and two men dressed in Admiral whites appeared. Hayley recognized the stern expression of Admiral Carlson on the right, but the man on the left, who she assumed was Admiral Pike by default, was completely new to her. He looked kind and relaxed, lounging back in his seat like he hadn’t a care in the world. Everything from the way he sat to the small smirk on his lips reminded Hayley of an older, more experienced Kirk. She had the vague notion that she was glimpsing the future as she stared up at the screen and forced a smile on her face when all she really wanted to do was scowl at the men who would decide her fate, along with the fate of her life’s work.

“Ah, Doctor Spencer. How nice of you to join us this time,” Admiral Carlson sneered.

 _Seriously?_ Hayley thought. _And he was so amiable last time we spoke._

“I apologize. I’m afraid I’m still recovering from…” she made a vague gesture with her hand, allowing the sentence to hang.

Admiral Carlson merely grumbled something she didn’t understand, but Pike’s eyes softened and he smiled encouragingly at her, “That’s quite alright, Doctor. Just take care of yourself.”

Hayley smiled. _I like him._

Carlson cleared his throat, “If we could get back to the matter at hand, Chris? How far along are we to a vaccine?”

“The antidote is ready for mass production, sir,” Hayley deadpanned, shrugging. “However the preventative vaccine is still in the works. Doctor McCoy and Spock have been kind enough to assist me–”

“No,” Carlson growled, cutting her off.

She raised an eyebrow.

“No?” Pike questioned, straightening in his chair to glare more affectively at his fellow admiral.

“No,” Carlson continued to scowl. “I don’t want anyone else working on this project. You’ll be the sole inventor, Doctor Spencer.” He chuckled apathetically, “At least we won’t have to worry about who to give the credit to.”

 _Whom,_ she silently corrected. “Forgive me, sir, but it will be far easier and much faster if I have assistance. Not to mention that if the Romulans–”

He gruffly cut her off again, his voice rising above hers, “I’m not sure what you’re implying _Miss_ Spencer, but I assure you Romulans have nothing to do with this conversation.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion, “But, sir,” she paused, taking in the hard narrowed gaze. _Crap._ She quickly switched to her language so only Spock would understand, “He’s part of it. The only way a Romulan could get past all our security protocols to work on the Titan would be if someone at the top helped push his papers through. But it’s more than that. We couldn’t find his file at all when we did a search. Carlson helped the Romulans plant a spy on the Titan without anyone noticing.” She snorted internally, piecing it all together as she spoke, “And that’s why he only wants me working on this. He thinks I don’t see what he’s doing, that I’m still fooled. He doesn’t want you or Bones helping because he knows one of you might spot the inconsistencies. He’s probably relying on my young age and inexperience in the field to keep me ignorant.”

She turned to Spock to see him staring calculatingly at the irate Admiral. Distantly, Hayley could hear Kirk explaining their language to the Admirals. She glanced up to see Pike’s smirk growing more pronounced and Carlson’s face growing purple with rage.

“I believe you are correct,” Spock deadpanned, still staying clear of speaking in English.

“I will not have this,” Carlson growled (pathetically in Hayley’s opinion). “I demand to know what you two are saying.”

“Apologizes,” Hayley and Spock spoke in tandem, both refusing to expand their explanation.

Pike’s burst of laughter was quickly hidden behind a cough, his eyes twinkling with humor as he gazed at the two Vulcan raised officers. Carlson seemed less than amused. He grumbled some excuse to leave, demanding that Hayley return to working alone before he slinked off screen.

“Well, I have to say,” Pike chuckled, “That was kinda fun. I’ve never really liked that man. Relies too much on the politics of this job.” He leaned forward, folding his hands on the desk in front of him, his lips turning down in a frown. “Unfortunately, I’ve recently found an even bigger reason to hate him.” He hesitated, thinking through his words.

“Admiral?” Kirk asked professionally.

“It…appears that Admiral Carlson…may have had a hand in the attack on the Titan.”

Hayley turned her head to look up at her friend, “Told you.”

Spock nodded thoughtfully.

Pike raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

Hayley continued to look at Spock, silently asking his opinion. He gave a small nod in approval and spoke in their tongue, “I have worked with Admiral Pike for many years. He is a trustworthy man.”

She nodded and turned back to the Admiral, finding him smiling amusedly at them. “I’ve had my suspicions that Carlson may have helped the Romulan who attacked me get appointed to the Titan.”

“Oh? And how long have you’ve thought this?”

“About five minutes.”

He chuckled, “What?”

“A few minutes ago it became clear,” Hayley motioned to the Vulcan beside her. “I asked Spock and he agreed.”

Still looking incredulous, Pike turned to him, “Mr. Spock?”

“It seemed the only logical explanation for wanting only one doctor working on creating a preventive vaccine. I believe Hayley is correct in her assumptions.” Pike’s eyes widened, surprised. Hayley couldn’t blame him. Spock never used someone’s first name during a professional discussion.

“Well then,” he paused still staring at them like they were some interesting new puzzle. “I’ll keep an eye on things on this end. For now I would say just continue working. I’ll see what I can do about getting you officially under my command. Who else was brought onboard from the Titan?”

“Just myself, Counselor Mikaela Troi, Communications Officer Zooey Storm, and a Sangian refugee we picked up named Elphaba.”

His lips quirked, “A Sangian refugee? I definitely have to hear that story when you get back.”

She could feel Kirk and Spock tense slightly from either side. They knew something. Something they knew she would not like. “Sir?”

Pike sighed, “I’m afraid the Council has decided to order the Enterprise back to Earth for debriefing and medical leave while they decide if this Romulan threat is something to take into consideration. I’m afraid Admiral Carlson has already began painting it out like it was an accident and you’re all suffering delusions from exposure to the toxins you’re working with. I’m doing my best to counteract it, but there’s only so much I can do. Carlson has been Admiral a lot longer than I have and has a lot of friends in very high places.”

Hayley was speechless. They were seriously _ordering_ them back to Earth when the Romulans could be planning God knows what out in the middle of space with no one the wiser. It was ridiculous! They couldn’t possibly think this would help. By the look on Pike’s face, not everyone did. Hopefully it would be enough to stop whatever this was before it blew up in their faces.

“I would suggest,” Pike said, eyes locked with hers, “Spock and Doctor McCoy continue to help you with the vaccine. We may need it soon enough.”

“No offense, sir,” Hayley allowed a small smirk, “but I wasn’t planning on listening to that old grouch anyway.”

He smiled, “Doctor Spencer, why do I have the feeling you are getting along famously on that ship?”

She grinned, “You have no idea.”


	11. Chapter 11

Hayley sat back in her swivel chair in her office and glared at the wall. She was brooding and she knew it. Not that she’d ever admit to it. But she couldn’t help it. The stupid council wouldn’t listen to her about the stupid Romulans, Admiral Carlson was becoming an even bigger pain in the ass by the day, she somehow had wound up at a standstill with her work despite all the extra help, Mikaela had finally revealed her (obvious) crush on Bones and was becoming an constant distracting presence in Med Bay, and to top it all off, Hayley had just had her butt chewed out by her godmother for not calling and informing her that her only goddaughter had nearly died recently.

Putting all that aside, however, she still thought there was something seriously wrong with her. Maybe the gas had done more damage than she thought, just on her brain and not her body. Why else would she suddenly feel like she was falling for her best friend? It was something to look into a least. Especially considering Spock appeared to be completely unaffected by her, exactly as it had always been.

So yeah, Hayley was brooding.

She was so wrapped up in her own inner ranting that she failed to notice the swishing of the automatic door opening or someone taking a seat across the desk from her. It wasn’t until a voice cut through the air that she blinked back into reality.

“What’s with the face?” Mikaela asked, tilting her head.

“What face?” Hayley shrugged. If she played dumb maybe Mikaela would realize she wasn’t in the mood for a psych evaluation.

Mikaela pointed to her friend’s face, “That one.” Oh well. It was worth a try. “You wanna talk about it?”

Hayley straightened from her slumped position and started shuffling papers on her desk, attempting to look busy. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Uh-huh,” Mikaela didn’t sound convinced. “That’s why you can’t look me in the eye right?”

She sighed. Why was it impossible to lie to a Betazoid, half breed or not? Stupid alien.

“C’mon, Shortcake,” Mikaela said in a soothing tone, dulling the stab of the hated nickname. “I know you. Something is bothering that enormous brain of yours. I can tell. Just talk to me.” When that still didn’t get a reply, she used a different tactic. “McCoy mentioned you guys were a little stuck with work. Is that it?”

Sighing again, Hayley caved. There was no way out. Mikaela could be ruthless when it concerned the mental well-being of her friends. She shook her head and gave a small, “No.”

“Okay,” her voice was encouraging now, thankful she’d at least got a response. “Does it have to do with us being ordered to Earth?”

She shook her head again before crossing her arms on her desk and lying her head down. She suddenly felt exhausted, and this time it had nothing to do with her sleep deprivation.

Mikaela sighed, throwing her hands up, “I give up. I honestly have no idea what is going through your head right now. And really Hayley, that bothers me. We’ve always been completely open with one another. You’ve never hidden something from me. _Especially_ when I ask about it. _Please_ tell me what’s wrong so I can help fix it!”

Hayley stared at her friend for a long time. It was true that she hadn’t ever kept anything from the half-Betazoid. Partly because it was just too much work to keep something from your empathic roommate, partly because Mikaela really was a fantastic therapist, but mostly because Hayley just trusted her enough not to judge and to sincerely want to help. But did she need help with this? She wasn’t even sure she knew what she was feeling at this point, let alone verbalize it enough to make her friend understand. It was all so jumbled and overcomplicated.

But maybe that’s why she needed to talk to Mikaela. After all, what was a therapist good for if not helping sort out crazy emotional crap you can’t figure out yourself.

Taking a deep breath, Hayley took the plunge before she lost her nerve, “I think…” Nope. The words died in her throat, refusing to be said aloud.

“You think…” Mikaela was leaning forward, elbows on knees.

“I don’t know,” Hayley shook her head and rubbed her eyes tiredly. “I’m so confused right now, I can’t even concentrate on work. That’s the real reason we’re stuck, if I’m being honest.”

“Okay, one step at a time,” Mikaela reached across the desk to clasp her friend’s hand, “What are you confused about?”

“Spock,” Hayley whispered before clamping her mouth shut. She hadn’t actually meant to say it, but it just slipped out. Her chest tightened at the name and her stomach flip-flopped. God dammit! What was wrong with her lately?

Mikaela’s brow furrowed in confusion, “What about Spock confuses you?”

“Well, it’s just…I’m not…” She paused, thinking over her words as she chewed her lip nervously. “Ever since I came back from the brink of death,” she rolled her eyes, using Zooey’s melodramatic phrasing. “It’s like something’s changed…and yet not. I don’t know how to explain it.” Hayley rubbed her temple with her free hand, her other still held supportively on the desk by Mikaela. A headache was starting to form behind her eyes.

“Do you mean…Hayley, catch me up, please. I’m a few steps behind.”

Hayley finally locked eyes with her friend, willing her to understand without having to say it out loud. It was too difficult. She wasn’t even sure what she should say, really. Again, she was too conflicted.

“Oh,” Mikaela’s eyes widened. “ _Oh!_ I see. You’re falling for him.”

Hayley ripped her hand away and pushed her chair out so she could pace restlessly, “ _I don’t know!_ All I know is, I feel…different around him than I did before. But I can’t fall for him. He’s my _best friend_ , for Christ’s sake. Has been since I was a baby. Did you know his mom still has pictures of when he used to crawl into my crib when I was a baby to ‘protect me from the monsters.’”

“Aw,” Mikaela smiled. “That’s so cute.”

“He was basically like my brother growing up. I trust him more than anyone. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“I can’t ruin that relationship. He’s the most important person in the universe to me. I can’t lose his friendship. And it’s not like he has feelings for me.”

“How do you know?”

Hayley froze in her pacing and ranting to turn a confused eye on her friend, “Excuse me?”

“How do you know he doesn’t have feelings for you?” she repeated calmly.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, internally beating back the spark of hope and butterflies in her stomach that Mikaela had unintentionally brought up with her words.

“Mikaela,” she said slowly, “I know Spock better than I know myself most days. Trust me on this. He doesn’t.”

She shrugged, “I’m not so sure. I’ve seen the way he is with you. He’s not afraid to open up a little with you, which is strange. Especially when you take in the fact that he’s part Vulcan, I think it’s safe to assume that you’re a very important part of his life too.”

Hayley groaned, running a hand down her face in frustration. Leave it to Mikaela to read into things. “You need to stop reading romance novels. Just because we’re important to each other doesn’t mean we’re in love.”

Silence stretched between them for a long moment as both girls tried to come up with a way to express their views.

“Do you want my opinion?” Mikaela said at last, “About you, not Spock.”

Sighing, Hayley collapsed back in her chair, “Shoot.”

“I think the fact that you are freaking out about this, loosing concentration, and just overall overthinking it, means you are developing feelings for him. You need to stop thinking about it and just follow your heart.”

Hayley stared at her friend, simply processing her words. She had never been very good with emotions. Or rather, she had never had a reason to worry over what she was feeling. Everything had always been black and white when it came to the relationships in her life. Nothing had ever given her pause, or made her unable to focus on anything else. Until now.

Right now, what she really needed to do was stop thinking about it all together, maybe then she’d find an answer. Distract herself and hope she’d have an epiphany moment when she wasn’t looking. Of course that would never happen. Not with this. It was far too important. So instead she closed her eyes, leaned back in her chair, and attempted to meditate. It was something she’d been taught on Vulcan. All Vulcans learned to meditate regularly in order to keep control over their emotions. However, she had always found it helpful as a way to understand her emotions and toss logic aside to allow her the ability to “follow her heart” as Mikaela said.

By the time she blinked her eyes back open, her whole body was stiff from staying in one position for too long. Mikaela was still there, but had been reduced to playing games on her PADD while her friend was more or less in a coma-like state. Hayley stood and stretched out all her aching muscles as Mikaela’s eyes snapped up.

“Better?” Mikaela asked.

Hayley nodded in response.

“And have you reached a decision?” And just like that Therapist Mikaela disappeared and Best-Friend-Hoping-for-Juicy-Gossip Mikaela appeared.

Hayley just gave her a small smile. She had every intention of telling her friend everything she’d learned about herself in that short amount of time, but for now it was fun to mess with her.

“I think I need to hit the gym, stretch out my muscles for a while.”

“Hayley!” Mikaela whined as she followed the doctor out of the office.

“Do you think we could gather up the girls for some group yoga or something?”

“This isn’t funny!” Mikaela stomped her foot on the ground like a five year old. An amazing feat considering they were now walking down the corridor towards the turbolift. A few people stared at them, but most had already grown accustomed to their random behavior and paid them no mind.

“And I think I should take a night off. I’ve been working pretty hard lately. I don’t think Bones would mind.”

“Fine,” Mikaela growled, stomping onto the turbolift with crossed arms. “I don’t wanna know anyway. Nevermind that _I_ was the one that helped you out.”

Hayley grinned, “So we should have a slumber party, like we used to. We’ll stay up and watch movies, paint our nails, and… _talk_.”

Mikaela grinned and lightly punched Hayley’s arm, “Jerk.”


	12. Chapter 12

Their yoga mats were lined up along the far mirror-lined wall where they wouldn’t be in the way and still be able to see everything going on behind them. Vi took the mat on the end, Zooey next to her, followed by Mikaela, Hayley, and lastly Elba. Zooey was able to set up a sound system to filter out soft music in the background as the girls slowly went through the motions so Elba, who hadn’t learned very much yet, could keep up.

They had just moved into the downward facing dog pose, butts high in the air, when the door behind them swished open. It didn’t really bother Hayley. People were constantly walking in and out of the gym while they were there. Sometimes Bones would even send someone in to check that they weren’t overdoing it. However, her curiosity demanded to be sated. Especially when there was no tell-tale sound of footsteps entering or retreating from the gym. Peeking around her own legs, Hayley saw the small group of guys lingering in the doorway, staring directly at her and her friends. Jim stood in front, jaw slack as he leered unrepentantly at the girls. Bones was purposely _not_ looking, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground. Though judging by the pink tint to his cheeks, he’d already peeked. Sulu had knelt down to pretend to re-lace a boot, all the while his eyes continued to glance up at them. Chekov’s entire face was beat red as he tried and failed to stop staring, shifting uncomfortably between Sulu and Kirk. Spock, of course, felt no embarrassment. He simply stood waiting for Jim to move so they could enter the room fully. Hayley wasn’t entirely certain he’d even notice them yet.

Finally Jim smirked, moving further into the room, “Well, I can honestly say I’ve never been happier to come into the gym.”

“Shut up, Kirk,” Hayley and Mikaela said in tandem making Bones chuckle.

Jim pouted while Chekov and Sulu hurried past, giving the girls small apologetic smiles before they disappeared into the hand-to-hand combat training area. She felt more than heard Spock move closer behind her, nearly jumping out of her skin when his hands gripped her hips. He fixed her position which she admitted had been slipping since she was distracted by the guys’ entrance. Her heart leapt into her throat and her skin tingled where he’d touched her, even through the clothes.

And yet she was still able to look up, smile, and give him a bright “Thank you.” It was nice to know that even with her emotions all over the place and her mind all jumbled up, she could still act exactly the same with him. They were still Spock and Hayley, just as it’d always been, and she suddenly felt much more at ease with her newfound feelings for him, comforted by the fact that they wouldn’t change her relationship if she didn’t want them to.

Spock gave a small nod in recognition of her gratitude and wandered away after Sulu.

“Seriously?” Jim called after him. “You see a line of girls bent over in front of you and all you see is that their form is off?”

“Vulcans are taught to suppress their emotions so as to be able to think clearly in every situation,” Hayley said calmly, shifting slightly so her wrists were more comfortable.

“What I’m more interested in,” Zooey said teasingly, “is the fact that our dear Captain was ogling our buttocks. I suddenly feel the need to file a sexual harassment charge.”

Jim paled, “What?” 

All the girls started laughing, falling down to their knees. Elba dropped down as well, though she wasn’t laughing, clearly out of her depth of worldly knowledge.

“Calm down,” Zooey said as her giggles faded. “I was just joking. Feel free to ogle my buttocks whenever you like.”

The girls dissolved into more giggles (minus Elba) and even Bones, who they temporarily forgotten was there, chuckled a little. Jim went from white to red as he tried to rush past. Zooey reached out and grabbed his wrist, making him pause and look down at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Aw, look,” Zooey cooed. “He’s blushing. I do believe I have harmed his delicate sensibilities.”

The girls laughed again as Kirk scowled and marched away.

“You all are trouble,” Bones scolded through his chuckles.

“Thank you,” Zooey smiled flirtatiously at him. McCoy just frowned at her.

“So what are you guys up to today?” Hayley asked, hoping to intervene before Zooey started something that would annoy the doctor too much and hurt Mikaela’s feelings.

“Jim wants us to work on our combat training, just in case we wind up in an altercation with those Romulans.”

“Huh. That’s kinda weirdly sweet of him.”

“How so?” Bones raised his eyebrow.

“He actually trusts me enough to take my word for everything and prepare his crew just in case something happens. None of us really know what will happen with all this, and it’s not like we’re heading _towards_ the danger right now. He didn’t have to do any of this, but he is just because I think something bad is heading our way.”

Mikaela nodded in agreement before turning to smile up at Bones, “So can we join?”

“What?” he frowned. “Why?”

“Well, we need to know how to defend ourselves too. You know, in case we get stuck in a situation like on the Titan again.”

“That’s actually a good idea,” Hayley agreed. It would be nice to brush up on her minimal skills and perhaps learn something more extensive.

McCoy scowled like he wanted to argue but couldn’t think of any reason not to agree. Their logic was sound, Hayley thought in a very Spock-like voice. She had to duck her head and bite her lip to hide her grin.

“Well,” Bones wavered, trying to quickly think of a reason not to agree. He didn’t really have anything. As long as they didn’t push themselves too much they would be able to keep up with the boys’ training. And Hayley doubted any of them would actually hurt them, even accidentally. It may be a little sexist, but she’d noticed all of them seemed to treat females like they could easily break. Except Spock, who knew if he tried that crap he’d get his head beaten in the first chance she got. Or at least she would try.

With a quick glance at each other, Mikaela and Hayley pressed their faces together, tilting their heads up to look at McCoy, pouted, widened their eyes innocently, and whined, “Pleeeeeease?”

He sighed and rolled his eyes, lips twitching in amusement, “Fine. You can watch and do the _bare minimum_.”

Mikaela and Hayley high-fived as the others laughed and cheered playfully.

“I’m serious. Strain yourselves too much and I’m locking you in Med-Bay until we get to Earth.”

“Yes, sir,” Mikaela saluted as they hopped up off their mats and hurried into the training area.

The guys were all scattered around the room stretching and warming up. Kirk had already lost his shirt, stretching out his arms in the corner. Sulu and Chekov were playing with a couple swords, Sulu giving light instructions as they slowly went through the movements. Hayley made her way over to where Spock stood waiting, hands clasped behind his back. Leaning against the wall, she sank down until she was seated cross-legged with him standing beside her almost like a sentry keeping watch over her. The thought of him standing with her, protecting her always, made her heart skip a beat. Ridiculous, but it happened.

The other girls followed her lead, sitting in a line against the wall as they waited for instruction. She could hear Zooey whisper something suggestive about Kirk followed by giggling. She rolled her eyes and focused on McCoy who had walked over to Jim and the two talked quietly, occasionally glancing at them.

Reaching out, she tugged on Spock’s pant leg to get his attention. “What’re they saying?” she whispered, knowing his sensitive hearing would be able to pick up the conversation across the room.

He glanced down before answering, “Doctor McCoy is explaining to the Captain that he has given you five permission to join us, however he requests that the Captain only teach you the basics of self-defense.”

Mikaela huffed, “So basically we’re not learning how to fight at all.”

“Why do you require such knowledge?”

“Romulans,” the girls said together. Having spoken multiple times with Hayley on the subject and growing used to the girls’ way of speaking, Spock easily understood what they were referring to.

Jim called the guys over as they began to run through basic moves, then moved on to grappling with each other. It was interesting to watch, to say the least. Hayley had often watched Spock and other Vulcans practice fighting when she was younger, dissecting their moves and catching where their weaknesses lie. Automatically, she began to do the same here. Sulu was brilliant at fencing, but needed work with wrestling. He had a tendency to not throw all his weight into his attacks and wasn’t able to predict where his attacker was aiming, thus leaving large windows of opportunity for his opponent to take him down. Chekov was relatively new at fighting, having been trained more for his brains than his diminutive brawns. It was fairly easy for any of them to take him down simply for his lack of skill, but he had speed on his side. The teenaged Russian was surprisingly quick on his feet. McCoy clearly had training, though he also seemed reluctant to use it. He went for classic boxing style that could leave him open to attack on his legs, knocking him over. Kirk was the most skilled, easily dodging and attacking in equal parts. But it wasn’t really a surprise, with how many bar fights Hayley knew he had been in, most of which were against multiple men. It seemed Jim was to be the reigning champ. Until Spock stepped up. None of the guys could compete with his quick efficient style and superior strength. Though Kirk got points for trying. The others backed off after being laid low the first time. Jim kept coming back for more.

Then the girls were called forward one by one. Sulu and Chekov joined them at the wall, slouching onto the ground as they rehydrated. Bones stood to the side, ready to jump in if it looked like one of the girls was getting in over her head. Spock stood by as well, giving logical tips when needed. Jim was the one training and carefully fighting them.

Zooey went first. It was ridiculous. She seemed more intent on allowing Jim to tackle her to the ground just so she could smirk up at him on top of her and say some unnecessary innuendo. Jim didn’t seem to mind all that much. After shooing her off the mat, Vi stepped up. She took it much more seriously, asking questions and requesting to be shown a move step by step until she had it memorized. Elba was hilarious. No matter what Jim did he couldn’t get her down. More often than not, she would start laughing saying he was tickling her. Finally he gave up and asked if she had any fighting experience, to which she began to list the mile long fights she had gotten into on Sangia. He told her to sit back down in a very exasperated tone. Mikaela, who at least already knew how to throw a punch, was able to pick things up the quickest. Already she could come at Jim just from seeing the moves while sitting across the room. She blamed it on forced dance lessons when she was a kid.

Then it was Hayley’s turn. Dusting herself off, she slowly made her way across the mat to where Kirk stood waiting, a small smirk in place.

“How much do you know?” he asked.

She shrugged, “Just some basics I learned on Vulcan.”

He frowned and turned to Spock.

“All adolescents are required to learn self-defense on Vulcan.” Spock explained.

“Okay,” Kirk said slowly, turning back to the woman in front of him. “Then we’ll start with me attacking you. You just try to block me, ‘kay?”

She didn’t like how he stressed the word try. She gave a curt nod and he took a few steps back. Standing completely relaxed, arms at her sides, she watched patiently as Kirk got into position.

“Ready?”

She nodded again. He waited a moment, studying her. Probably wanting to take her by surprise. Suddenly he lunged forward, leaning down to grab her around the waist, most likely intending to throw her over his shoulder like a caveman. She waited until he was a foot away to move. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of his wrist with one hand, dropping to one knee, and took his ankle in the other. She stood back up, using his own momentum to toss him easily over her shoulder. She heard a loud grunt of pain as he impacted against the mat. Cheers erupted along the wall where her friends sat. Bones had started laughing and she turned to see what he found so hilarious. Jim stared up at her with a mixture of awe and disbelief as he tried to gasp in breath.

“Well done,” Spock said stoically from beside her. She flashed him a grin as a thank you.

“…the hell?” Jim managed to rasp out.

“Trained on Vulcan. Remember?” she smirked down at him before offering a hand up. He took it, hopping to his feet and trying to brush off the unexpected take down.

“Well then,” he said after having a long gulp of water. “I won’t take it easy on you from now on.”

“Jim,” McCoy warned from the sidelines. “Careful. She’s still recuperating.”

“Bones, if she can flip me like that, I’m sure she can take a few hits. Don’t worry I won’t break your new favorite.”

Bones rolled his eyes and Hayley chuckled, but she couldn’t help but glance up at Spock to see what he thought of all this. She was glad she did, or she would have missed the slight downward tug of his lips and the flash of anger directed toward the doctor. Was it possible that her newfound feelings weren’t as one-sided as she thought?

She moved closer to him, speaking in their own tongue for no reason other than she could, “When we’re done here, would you mind sparring with me for a little? If I’m not too tired, that is.”

His expression smoothed back out, but his eyes had softened with affection. The same affection he always held for her. Maybe she had imagined the anger earlier, her hopes making her see things.

He bowed his head slightly, “Of course. But perhaps you should ask the doctor.” Did she imagine the slight bitterness in his tone as well?

She rolled her eyes, “Bones is a little overprotective. I think he sees me as a sister figure and can’t help but coddle. I know my limits. I’ll be fine.”

His lips twitched, “As you wish.”

She snorted even as her heart sore. She knew he had said that on purpose. Just the other night she’d woken up screaming from a horrible nightmare that she could hardly remember. Shaking and drenched in a cold sweat, she’d snuck down the hall to Spock’s quarters, slipping in to find him wide awake at his desk. Night on Vulcan only lasted a few hours, making the local populous only need a few hours of sleep a night. Unless you were human of course. It had been difficult at first for the Vulcans around her to get used to her eight hour sleep schedule, especially when she had started school. Thank God for Amanda. It would have been near impossible without her.

So it wasn’t a surprise to find her best friend up at such a late hour. He also didn’t seem surprised to find her sneaking into his room, having grown used to it as a child, and quickly acclimatizing to it once more after she was released from Sick Bay. Few nights passed that she didn’t have nightmares or insomnia, and having a close friend who didn’t sleep much meant she could spend all night with him without depriving him of rest as well. He merely nodded to the bed and told her to make herself at home and he’d join her shortly. She had clambered into his large bed, curling up under the covers, and searched through the available movies on the large screen on the wall. She had found an old favorite, one that Amanda had shown her when she was little and she’d forced Spock to watch countless times. Smiling she started _The Princess Bride_ as her friend joined her under the covers, allowing her to lay with her head on his chest, breathing in his comforting scent until all her nerves washed away and she fell into a dreamless asleep.

And now he was reciting the line that Wesley always told his love Buttercup when she asked something of him. Nervous butterflies battered at her stomach at the thought of what that could mean.

“Ready for round two?” Jim’s voice broke through her thoughts.

Taking a deep breath and blinking back into focus, she turned to the Captain, forcing all other thoughts to the back of her mind to be examined later.


	13. Chapter 13

Hayley walked out of the steamy bathroom, toweling her hair dry and attempting to ignore the slight ache in her muscles. That last sparring match with Spock had been a bad idea, even if it meant having time alone with him. Even Bones had left with everyone else, trusting Spock to take care of her and not push her too far. What they all seemed to forget was that Hayley was very talented at hiding her exhaustion, even from her best friend…sort of. He’d caught on eventually and called their training to a halt, ordering her back to her quarters to rest. So she’d given him a peck on the cheek and called a goodnight over her shoulder as she dashed out, hoping he didn’t see the scarlet blush creeping over her cheeks. In private, she always kissed him on the cheek to say goodnight, but now that she’d silently acknowledged the shift in her emotions, it all felt so different. She could only hope the logical alien didn’t notice the change in her as well as the empathic alien had.

Speaking of Mikaela. Hayley set the now damp towel of the back of her desk chair to dry and eyed her friend from across the room. Mikaela sat cross-legged in her Hello Kitty pajamas on top of the bed with an assortment of snacks surrounding her. On the floor beside the bed was an old-fashioned make-up box that immediately had Hayley groaning internally. She’d forgotten her promise for a slumber party. Without saying a word, she marched across the room and flopped down on the bed, knocking into Mikaela and almost up ending a bowl of popcorn in the process.

“Hey!” the half-alien protested. “Careful!”

“Can’t we do this another night? I’m too tired,” she said, her voice muffled by the pillow she refused to remove her face from.

“No, you promised. It’s not my fault you pushed yourself too far. Just like Bones warned you not to do.”

Hayley grumbled incoherently into the cushion below her, mentally coming up with ways to get back at her decidedly evil friend who was now merrily picking out a movie to watch on the flat screen. She didn’t bother to glance up as she heard the opening music to _Cry-Baby_ (the original, not the remake from 2217).

“Again?” she asked, though she wasn’t sure if Mikaela understood her as her face was still buried in her pillow. She grunted as she felt a sharp smack on her butt.

“Don’t be such a square, Hayley,” Mikaela teased.

She rolled her eyes unnecessarily, “It’s so overdramatized.”

“That’s part of what makes it so fantastic,” she answered in overly dramatic voice, making Hayley roll her eyes again.

Both grew quiet as the movie wore on, music filling up the silence between them. Hayley was just starting to drift off, thankful that her friend seemed too engrossed in the film to notice. Unfortunately it didn’t last. The volume lowered to a more normal level before she felt the bed shifting.

“So…” Mikaela paused, allowing her time to turn over so that they were facing each other, though Hayley still refused to sit up. Instead she curled onto her side, one hand under her cheek as she gazed up at her friend.

“So?”

“C’mon Hayley! Talk!”

She hesitated, “Honestly, I don’t know what to say, Mikaela.”

“You seemed to have some sort of epiphany back at your office. What was it?”

Hayley chewed on her lip as she stared up at her friend, trying to think of the words that reflected her feelings. Oh hell, might as well be blunt about it. “I’m in love with Spock.”

Mikaela threw up her arms in exasperation, “Of course you are. Thank you for finally admitting it.”

“But that doesn’t change anything.”

She blinked dumbly down at her, “Excuse me?”

“I refuse to act on my feelings.”

“What! Why?” she practically screeched. “Explain yourself!”

Hayley sighed, pushing herself up to lean heavily on the headboard of her bed, “I am not going to act on any of my emotions. First off, even if he is just a half-breed, Spock _is_ still Vulcan, and I refuse to scare him off and possibly ruin our friendship, simply because my feelings for him have changed. Second, while this situation has been distracting while I was still uncertain, now that I am resolved, I feel much more at peace and will be able to continue work. If I were to tell Spock the truth, it could cause an even worse distraction whether or not he felt the same. I cannot waste any more time with the vaccine. Which leads me to my last point. While the Romulan threat still hangs over our heads, no one should be worried about anything else or we could fail and people could die. I will not put possibly hundreds of lives in danger just to be selfish.”

“But…but…but…” Mikaela stuttered, trying to see a flaw in her logic. “But you love him!”

“Yes, I do,” she said calmly. At this point, she was so exhausted, even her Vulcan training on controlling her emotions was being worn thin. If she didn’t rest soon, she’d probably start having a nervous breakdown. Hopefully she could talk Mikaela down quickly, or the half-Betazoid was going to have her work cut out for her. “But there is more important things at stake right now. He’s one of my best friends, Mikaela. The person I feel closest to in this universe. Until I’m sure that everything is safe again, and our closeness won’t be effected, I’m leaving things as they are.”

Mikaela pouted, clearly still wanting to argue, but simply nodded.

Hayley sighed, “Thank you. Now can we _please_ go to bed. It’s been a long day for me.”

Slowly, a smirk grew across Mikaela’s face, and Hayley groaned. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Hours later, Mikaela lay sprawled across her bed, snoring lightly and drooling all over her pillow. Hayley made a mental note to change out her sheets tomorrow as she tossed over to her other side, willing her body to relax enough to sleep. Tonight it wasn’t her mind traitorously producing insomnia, but her body. She felt tense and restless, ready to jump up at a moment’s notice, though at the same time weak, heavy. She doubted she had enough energy to lift her arm far off the mattress, let alone jump up without crumbling immediately to the ground.

Despite that, she still found herself twisting around until her feet hit the ground. Huffing quietly in annoyance, she pushed off the bed, jarring the mattress as much as possible. It didn’t effect Mikaela in the slightest, only annoying her further.

It became clear just how much sleep she needed when she began to sway in the corridor. Bracing herself against the wall, she paused a moment, eyes closed, as she tried to summon enough energy to at the very least not collapse before she made it down the hall before continuing on. Shuffling, more like. She really had no energy to actually lift her feet off the floor. So sliding her bare feet across the slick floor it was.

She made it to her desired location without further incident, punching in the code into the key screen beside the door and stumbling in when the door swished open. At first the dimly lit room appeared empty, but one quick glance around the room later she found Spock sitting cross-legged on some cushions in the corner, eyes closed and breathing deep. Leaving him be, Hayley tripped over to his bed, snagging the PADD that controlled the entertainment system before curling up under the covers. She turned the volume down to a low murmur before deciding what to watch while she waited for Spock to finish meditating. After going through her saved favorites, she finally gave in and cuddled under the blanket as the opening to _The Princess Bride_ began once again.

Feeling decidedly more comfortable, Hayley blinked sluggishly at the screen in an attempt to stay awake a little longer. She would feel bad if she fell asleep before she was able to tell Spock why exactly she was invading his room again. Though she was sure he would guess easily enough. Finally her eyes won the battle and she felt herself falling into oblivion before starting when an arm wrapped around her waist. Distantly she heard the movie stop abruptly and she was dragged back so her back rested against a strong lean chest.

“Go to sleep, Hayley,” Spock’s voice commanded quietly beside her ear. She was helpless to do anything but comply.

* * *

Someone was nuzzling her neck. Someone was _nuzzling_ her neck. _Someone was nuzzling her neck._ This was, without a doubt, the strangest thing for her to be woken up by. Never had she experienced, or even expected to experience this sensation. She quickly rifled her brain for an explanation as to how she came into this situation. She remembered the sleepover with Mikaela, the insomnia, coming to Spock’s room, and starting _The Princess Bride_. She had fallen asleep right after Spock came into bed.

She froze. Holy. Crap. Did this – Was that – Her mind refused to form a coherent thought. It only became worse when she felt lips press against the soft spot behind her ear, making her shiver. What the _hell_ was going on? Did she fall into an alternate universe or something while she slept? That was the only explanation her brain could provide at the moment.

The arm at her waist tightened, flattening her against his chest and pinning her there while he continued to pay homage to her neck. He made a happy sound at the back of his throat, sending yet another shiver down her spine.

Out of nowhere, everything fell into place. Had it really already been seven years? She quickly did the calculations in her head and found that, yes, it really had. She had been so distracted by the events that took place on the Titan and then all the business on the Enterprise, that she completely overlooked a very important fact. A fact that could potentially ruin everything…or make everything a million times better. Either or, really. Question was, did she risk it, or run like hell?

Carefully, she turned over to look Spock in the eye. He stared back, pupils blown so wide, his usually brown eyes looked black. Crap. That was not good. Or incredibly great. She couldn’t make up her mind. Either way, she had minimal choices left open to her. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed back into the mattress, as Spock went back to his attentions on her pulse point, making her breath hitch. She really was enjoying this far too much considering the circumstances. After all, Spock had no control over his emotions during _Pon Farr._ He may regret his actions when he was back to his right mind. Actually that was pretty much a guarantee. Even if he had feelings for her, he wouldn’t want to take advantage of her like this.

“T’hy’la,” Spock whispered against her skin, making her flush.

T’hy’la was the Vulcan term of affection that could mean friend or brother, but most commonly was used by lovers as identification, like “soul mates”. Generally, it meant “you are the one who is most important in my life”. In that respect, it could easily be used between the two of them, but Hayley always felt it held a little too much romantic connotations for their relationship. She was sure Spock felt the same.

“T’hy’la,” he muttered again, brushing her hair back to press a tender kiss to her temple.

Biting her lip, Hayley gathered her courage together, deciding to just give in. It was easier than anything else, and it wasn’t like she didn’t want to. Not to mention if Spock didn’t mate soon, or get medical attention, he could very well go mad from the chemical imbalance taking place in his mind. Only one thing to do, then. Quickly, she flipped over to face him…

Only to promptly fall out of bed, the sheets tangling around her legs as she landed with a loud thud. Blinking dolefully up at the ceiling, Hayley tried to catch up with reality. Clearly all that had been a dream. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a dream like that. And it hadn’t actually been that racy. Not like some of the dreams Zooey felt the need to share on almost a daily basis. One thing in particular stood out to her, however, and she quickly did the _real_ calculations in her head before heaving a sigh of relief. Yes, this was the year that Spock would go through _Pon Farr_ , however they still had a good four months before they had to worry. That was plenty of time for her to prepare the medical equipment and to teach Bones what to do so he could take care of it in case she wasn’t nearby when _Pon Farr_ began.

Slowly, she sat up to look around the room. The lights were dimmed, but it was clearly the day cycle on the ship. The muffled sound of water running in the adjoined bathroom was the only sound in the room. Taking a deep breath, Hayley carefully detangled herself from the sheets and tossed them back onto the bed before getting up off the floor just as the water cut off. She hesitated a moment, unsure whether or not she could really face Spock right away. Finally she shook her head at her own ridiculousness and plopped back down on the bed, turning on the movie where she left off, where Wesley was fighting with a ROUS.

Spock came out a moment later, dressed in his uniform with a towel around his shoulders. He nodded in greeting as he collected his boots from beside the door and sat down on the edge of the bed to put them on. Just like any other day. Hayley quietly let out a small sigh of relief. For a minute there, she was a little worried her dream would make her feel awkward, but now she saw that she really was just being ridiculous. It would take a whole heck of a lot more than one dream to change the way Spock and Hayley acted with one another.

“I realized something last night,” Hayley said offhandedly.

He finished tying his boot and turned to look at her, giving her his full attention.

“In four months is your _Pon Farr_ ,” she said calmly, cutting straight to the point.

He paused a moment, head tilted slightly to the side as he thought it over. “You are correct.”

She nodded, “With your permission, I would like to talk to Doctor McCoy about the medical procedure to help you through.”

He stared at her for a moment before nodding as well, “That is acceptable.” He stood, moving over to the desk, “Will you be joining me for breakfast?”

Hayley hopped up off the bed, “Sure. Let me just go and…” her voice trailed off as a thought occurred to her. She stared blankly at the wall for probably too long, only distantly aware of Spock coming over, calling her name, and shaking her shoulder in an attempt to snap her out of it. “Oh,” she whispered. “Oh!” She smiled up at him and launched herself into his arms, laughing.

“Hayley?” he sounded slightly concerned.

“That’s it!” she grinned broadly as she took a step back, still holding on to his arms.

“I’m afraid I do not understand.”

“The vaccine! We’ve been looking at it wrong!”

“How so?” He had to grip her upper arms tightly to stop her from bouncing around excitedly.

“We’ve been breaking down the gas into its most basic compounds in order to figure out a way to reverse it. But what if we not only do that, but also look at what it does to a person’s body? Look for a way to counteract the effects as well as the gas itself!”

A large genuine smile broke out across his face and he swiftly bent down to scoop her up into a celebratory hug, spinning her around just to make her laugh again.

“I have to go to the lab right away,” she said once he set her down again. She made to go out the door only to be stopped by Spock’s hand gripping hers, forcing her to turn to look at him.

“First, you will go wash up and get ready for the day, then breakfast, _then_ you may go to the lab.” His tone left no room for arguments.

Sighing she nodded in agreement, “If I must.”

Then Spock took her by surprise. Ducking his head, he placed a quick kiss at the corner of her mouth, “You must.”

Hands still entwined, he led her down the hall as Hayley tried to catch her breath.


	14. Chapter 14

Mikaela inhaled deeply as they stepped off the shuttle into the hustle and bustle of Starfleet’s main dock.

“Home sweet home,” she grinned, turning to look at Hayley.

“Speak for yourself,” the other woman snorted before glancing around. The dock was crowded with a variety of humans and aliens, mostly engineers working on different ships and shuttles under repair. Slowly making their way through the crowd was a small group of men that immediately drew Hayley’s eye. Spock walked, hands folded behind his back next to Admiral Pike with Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy on the ends. The four men were speaking in low voices as they made their way towards where Hayley and Mikaela were being joined by Vi, Zooey, and Elba.

“ _Miss_ Spencer,” a deep voice called behind them.

Hayley groaned internally before turning to face Admiral Carlson. The large man stood before her, frowning in disapproval.

“Admiral,” she greeted as politely as she could, keeping her tone neutral.

The man’s dark eyes took in the line of females in front of him, lingering questioningly on the tall greyish green alien that hadn’t been there before. He turned slightly, snapping his fingers at an assistant that hovered behind him. The lanky man hurried forward to hand the Admiral a PADD.

“I trust everything is in order,” without waiting for an answer he quickly wrote something down on the PADD and continued, “There will be a debriefing in an hour.” He turned on his heel and walked off, the assistant trotting after him.

Scowling, the five girls turned their heads to look at the retreating figure before sticking their tongues out and blowing raspberries at him in unison. Deep chuckles had them turning around. Admiral Pike smiled at them with the Kirk and McCoy standing a step behind looking amused. Spock stood beside his commanding officer with his usual blank expression.

“Doctor Spencer,” Pike greeted warmly, holding out his hand. “Pleasure to finally meet you.”

Hayley gripped his hand, “Nice to meet you too, Admiral.”

He glanced behind her, clearly wishing for introductions to her companions.

“This is Viola Cutler. She’s an Engineer on the Enterprise. Counselor Mikaela Troi. Communications Officer Zooey Storm. And Elphaba, a Sangian refugee.”

He nodded politely to them, “Quite a rag-tag team you’ve collected.”

“Yeah,” she grinned. “What can I say? I like collecting strays.”

Pike laughed as the girls made loud noises of indignation, Mikaela even went so far as to punch Hayley’s shoulder.

“Well, I’m sure you’re all exhausted,” Pike smiled charmingly (definitely like an older Kirk), “But if you’d like I’m treating these gentlemen to dinner and you are all welcome to join.”

“I would love to,” Hayley only answered for herself. “However, we have a debriefing with Admiral Carlson in an hour.”

“That’s alright. I’m sure we can hold off until then.”

Mikaela sighed, “As lovely as that sounds, I can’t.”

“Why not?” Bones suddenly spoke up, disappointment not quite hidden in his tone.

“I promised Daneel I’d have dinner with her.”

“Who’s Daneel?” Kirk asked with a confused expression.

Mikaela opened her mouth to answer, only to let out a huff as something collided with her back. Hayley turned to see eighteen-year-old Daneel Troi clinging to her older sister’s back, grinning widely, green eyes alight with mischief. Light auburn hair was twisted back to keep it out of the way and her red cadet uniform was rumpled from running and jumping onto Mikaela. A bag lay discarded nearby.

“Hello Daneel,” Hayley greeted, smiling.

Pike looked even more amused than before.

“God dammit, Daneel!” Mikaela hissed, prying off the arms wrapped around her neck as the guys laughed (except Spock, of course, who merely quirked an eyebrow), “Get off!”

“Hayley!” the younger woman shouted happily, promptly climbing down and launching herself at the doctor. “I haven’t seen you in like forever!”

Hayley chuckled, patting the slim girl’s back affectionately, “Good to see you too.”

“Zooey! Vi!” Daneel suddenly shouted, jerking away from Hayley so quickly, the older woman stumbled before a firm hand griped her elbow, steadying her. She smiled briefly up at Spock who seemed to just materialize beside her out of nowhere.

Mikaela sighed in exasperation, much like how Bones does whenever he hangs out with them during their downtime, Hayley thinks. “Everyone, this is my sister Daneel. She just started Starfleet and is studying computers…or something. Whatever.”

“Nice to know you care so much, sis,” Daneel leans heavy on the sarcasm.

Mikaela rolled her eyes.

Chuckling, Pike nodded, “Nice to meet you. You’re welcome to join us as well.”

“Join…wait…huh?” Daneel turned to Hayley as if she held all the answers.

Pike grinned, “Well, I’ll leave you all to get freshened up before your debriefing.”

They all bid farewell to the Admiral as the man disappeared in the milling crowd. Only then did Hayley realize they were still standing on the dock outside of their shuttle.

“Someone gonna explain what just happened,” Daneel broke the silence.

Mikaela sighed and took her sister by the arm, “C’mon I’ll explain on the way to the room. I’ll see you guys later. Coming, Hayley?”

“Right behind you,” she called to the girls’ retreating figures. She turned back to the slightly baffled looking men beside her as Vi, Zooey, and Elba wandered away.

“I never knew she had a sister,” Kirk whined slightly. “That seems like something I should know. We were dating…”

“Jim, you weren’t ever dating. Not really,” Hayley said honestly. “You were more like fuck buddies.

Bones made a startled choking sound, turning wide eyes on Hayley, “Excuse me?”

She shrugged, “What? It’s true. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve walked in on them going at it like rabbits.”

He made another strangled sound and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Kirk grinned at her suggestively, “I didn’t know you paid such close attention. All you had to do was ask, you know.”

She rolled her eyes even as she felt Spock stiffen next to her, “Don’t even bother. You’re not gonna win that bet. May as well pay Bones now.”

He scowled at her as she turned to walk after her roommate, McCoy’s laughter floating after her.

* * *

They sat at a long oval table across from Admiral Carlson and a couple other commanding officers Hayley didn’t recognize, but they seemed like buddies to Carlson, so she was instantly mistrustful of them. Mikaela sat on her right and Zooey on her left. Elba sat on a rickety chair against the wall behind them, fidgeting. They had been sitting there reciting the events from the Titan for the past forty-five minutes and were just now finishing up. Even Hayley was fighting the urge to squirm. Or yawn. Or allow her stomach to growl. God, she was hungry.

“Right, now that that’s all settled,” Carlson shifted in his seat to stare directly at Hayley. “How far along are we with the vaccine?”

Keeping her face neutral, Hayley folded her hands on top of the table and pretended to sigh resignedly, “I’m afraid I’ve hit a snag.”

The Admiral scowled, “Oh?”

She nodded once, “Without the extra help it’s been…difficult to make any progress. And I’ve just been informed by Doctor McCoy that while on Earth I am – for lack of a better term – banned from all work. He believes that the long hours I’ve been putting in have hindered my recovery somewhat and has ordered that I take this time to relax and recuperate.”

Admiral Carlson sputtered incoherently.

“Unfortunately,” Hayley continued, ignoring the indignant men in front of her, “That means for the next few weeks, all my work will be at a standstill until I return.”

“Return?” his eyes narrowed. “From where?”

She shrugged, “It’s a retreat Doctor McCoy has offered to take us to.” She honestly had no clue where they were going. Bones had been annoyingly mum on the subject. Hopefully they would be able to wheedle some information out of him tonight as they would be leaving in two days and most of that time they’d all be too busy to pester him.

The Admiral raised an eyebrow, “He told you nothing about where he’s taking you?”

“He said the fewer people that know the better. He is very reluctant to have our trip interrupted for any reason. However if there should be an emergency of some kind I do believe he has told Admiral Pike.”

The Admiral pressed his lips together in a thin line, “Admiral Pike? You are under my command, and therefore–”

“Forgive me, Admiral,” Hayley cut off his rant, really not in the mood to listen at the moment. “But this isn’t about who is commanding who. McCoy is our physician at the moment, in charge of keeping us healthy enough to continue working. That being said, if he believes our health is at risk, he will not tell any more people than necessary simply to allow us the time needed to recover fully from something that has killed people in the past without being called prematurely back into action.”

Tangible silence enveloped the room as Hayley and Carlson stared each other down, neither willing to back down. The other commanding officers in the room shifted uncomfortable, well aware that this was the only known time someone had stood up to Carlson. Though she spoke calmly and not altogether disrespectfully, so they had no way to punish her for it.

“Who all will be leaving with you?” the Admiral asked tightly.

“The three of us of course, as well as Elphaba,” she nodded to the alien now slumped in her chair, snoozing. “Doctor McCoy, naturally will be with us to oversee our recovery. And I believe Commander Spock, Captain Kirk, and a few others from the Enterprise wish to come along for shore leave as well.”

Carlson smirked, “Surely so many people would be a hindrance to your recovery?”

“Not at all,” Hayley smirked right back at him, mentally trying to channel Jim as much as possible. “On the contrary, they have all been exceedingly helpful during our time on the Enterprise.”

Carlson huffed irritably, leaning back in his chair to appraise the three women in front of him. Sighing, he waved a hand towards the door, “Very well. I can’t argue with a doctor’s advice. You are dismissed.”

Hurriedly, they jumped up, gathered Elba, and rushed out the door before the Admiral could change his mind.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So quick note: when I was first writing this a friend of mine wanted to write a fun short piece of the characters' leave. She never ended up finishing it, but the story still pauses where it's supposed to be. At one point I thought about writing it myself, but it's been so long now idk if I ever will. I don't think the trip is ever really referenced later in the story, so you can read it without getting confused.

Hayley placed her fork and knife down and leaned back in her chair, looking around at the others seated around the large round table in the middle of one of San Francisco’s best restaurants. Mikaela sat on her right, battling over a piece of cheesecake with Daneel. Sulu sat next to the eighteen-year-old, chuckling at the sisters’ antics. He had been a big help keeping Daneel distracted during dinner so she didn’t bother the elder Troi too much. Next to Sulu sat Scotty and Vi, heads bent close together in their own world. They were just too cute. Then was Elba and Chekov. The young Russian was explaining to the alien all about the different countries found on Earth. Zooey sat next to them, leaning across Bones who sat on her other side towards Kirk who was flirting relentlessly with her while McCoy looked on exasperated, while occasionally shooting glances at an oblivious Mikaela. Pike sat between Kirk and Spock (who sat on Hayley’s left) looking over his new companions with a small smile.

All in all, it had been a great night. Good friends, old and new. Delicious food. And best of all, in Hayley’s opinion, was how close she was sitting to Spock. Their shoulders brushed every time one of shifted, hands bumping as they ate, sending tingles running up her spine. And he hadn’t said a word when she picked off his plate or pushed certain things off hers and onto his. For the bulk of the evening they had resembled Scotty and Vi, leaning in close to one another and talking mainly with each other. She loved these quiet moments with Spock, even if they were in public view surrounded by their friends and colleagues.

Pike had been eyeing them off and on for a while now with a curious expression across his face. Hayley decided to just ignore it for now. Whatever he was thinking would more than likely come up later.

“So,” Pike said to the table at large, quieting down all the other conversations. “I’m told you’ll all be going away for a while.”

“That’s not fair,” Mikaela whined, glaring daggers at Bones. “You tell him where we’re going but we can’t know.”

The doctor swallowed a mouthful of beer before nodding, “That about covers it, yeah.”

Hayley rolled her eyes. That was wholly unnecessary but kind of entertaining to see Mikaela’s eye twitch like that. Not many could do that that quickly.

Pike shook his head, choosing to ignore the side argument, “How long will you be gone?”

“A week,” Bones answered. “We leave tomorrow morning.”

“Good. That should be long enough.”

Hayley’s brow furrowed, “Long enough for what?”

Pike smirked, “For me to convince high command to transfer all of you to the Enterprise. That includes you Daneel.”

Daneel immediately spit the water she had just sipped across the table, making everyone in the vicinity jump back in alarm. “Are you kidding me?” she squealed.

Chuckling, Pike shook his head, “Not at all. I went over your file after we met and found you to be exemplary at what you do. I’m sure all you need is a little field experience to quickly become one of the best in your field – something you can easily achieve on the Enterprise. You’ll have to work your way up, of course, but you’ll at least be out of a classroom which I hear would be for the best all things considered. Did you really hack into the school mainframe to alter a student’s grades to the lowest possible?”

“You did what now?” Mikaela hissed at her baby sister.

Daneel shrugged, “Karma’s a bitch. She found out the hard way.”

Sighing, Mikaela ran a hand down her face, “Daneel, it’s not karma if _you_ are the one to do it. That’s called revenge.”

“Fine. Revenge is a bitch.”

“Actually the saying is ‘revenge is a dish best served cold,’” Hayley said dryly. At Mikaela’s exasperated look she shrugged, “Just saying.”

“If everything goes the way I hope,” Pike continued undeterred. “Then by the time you come back you should all be officially working on the Enterprise.”

“Thank you,” Hayley said slowly, thinking over her words. “I’ll be extremely happy to leave Admiral Carlson’s employment, but why would you do this for us?”

“You’re the best,” he said simply. “And I want the best for the Enterprise.”

She nodded, “Sounds logical.”

He quirked an eyebrow, glancing between her and Spock.

“But not completely true,” Mikaela said, leaning forward on the table.

Both eyebrows rose this time, “Why do you say that?”

She pointed at herself, “Betazoid.”

He nodded in understanding, “Well then, honestly? I’m worried by what exactly Carlson is planning.” He glanced around to make sure no one was listening before leaning in and speaking lowly. “He’s becoming more secretive and quite a few of the other officers are clearly siding with him. I’m not entirely sure how deep this goes. We can trust very few higher officers, though thankfully enough that I should be able to get those transfers pushed through quickly.”

“Jesus,” Hayley hissed, shaking her head. “Maybe this trip is a bad idea.”

“No,” Bones cut in sternly. “You especially _need_ this time off. You haven’t listened to a thing I told you since you came aboard the Enterprise. You need to take care of yourself before anything else.”

She sighed, “Bones, some things are more important.”

“What good can you do when you’re dead on your feet?”

She shook her head, unable to argue further. Under the table, Spock discreetly placed his hand on her knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He left it there for the rest of the half hour the group spent discussing plans in the restaurant.

* * *

The group had disintegrated, everyone trailing off on their own for the night with plans to meet early the next day, until there was only Bones, who insisted on walking Mikaela, Hayley, and Daneel back to the dorms, and Spock, who Hayley was leaning heavily on, her arm linked through his, as the day finally caught up with her. Daneel was chattering away next to them, though Hayley couldn’t understand a word of it as her mind had finally gone to mush with exhaustion. McCoy and Mikaela were a few feet ahead of them, just out of earshot. They too had their arms linked, Mikaela tripping over her feet from one glass of wine too many. Even so, Bones was looking down at her with a half amused half affectionate grin, his eyes twinkling lightly. Every time he happened to look away, Mikaela would look up at him with a similar expression. It was almost too much.

Suddenly a hand grabbed Hayley’s, snapping her out of her dazed thoughts. She turned toward Daneel to see the young girl staring pointedly at her older sister, “How long has that been going on?”

Spock glanced down at the girl, opening his mouth to speak, but Hayley squeezed his arm lightly to cut him off, shaking her head minutely.

“Pretty much since we woke up on the Enterprise,” Hayley answered instead.

“Hmm,” Daneel smirked. “Very interesting.”

The doctor sighed, “Daneel.”

“What?”

“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t. Just leave them alone.”

Her eyes widened innocently, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. Look, just leave it alone, okay. They’ll see in their own time.”

“Really? Are you sure? We are talking about Mikaela after all. And that McCoy seems awfully stubborn.”

Hayley looked back at her friends. It seemed they were almost purposefully being oblivious about their growing feelings for one another. Hayley simply thought they were too scared to enter a relationship. They were almost a decade apart in age, their personalities were polar opposites. But they seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. Could they not see that?

She sighed, “I still don’t think we should interfere. It’s their lives we’re talking about.”

Daneel shrugged, “Whatever you say.”

“I’m serious, Daneel.”

“You’re always serious.”

“Daneel.”

“Okay, okay. I get it.”

“Thank you,” Hayley laid her head back on Spock’s shoulder, almost feeling his confusion radiating off him as they walked up the dorm steps. She gave his arm another squeeze and slowly he relaxed again. McCoy held the door as the three girls filed in with Spock in tow.

“Well, good night then,” Daneel called as she hurried away, not waiting for the others.

Hayley turned, wrapping her arms around Spock’s waist and resting her head on his chest. She breathed deeply to take in his unique musky scent. “Good night,” she whispered.

A hand came up to cup the back of her head and he pressed a feather light kiss to her hair, “Sleep well.”

She grinned up at him before moving away.

Mikaela was standing awkwardly beside Bones as they said an overly polite goodbye. Hayley rolled her eyes, stepping up to McCoy and giving him a hug as well. She smiled at his slightly shocked expression as she backed off, grabbing Mikaela’s hand and leading her after Daneel.

The young computer expert was sitting in her pajamas in the middle of one of the beds, running a brush through her hair. When the others walked in she grinned but held her tongue. Thankfully. Hayley really didn’t want to hear why she had left the four of them alone so abruptly, especially after the little talk they had earlier.

Hayley was the last to get ready for bed, coming out of the connecting bathroom to find Mikaela passed out and Daneel playing a game on her PADD. Settling down in the bed beside the sisters’, she turned to face Daneel who had put down the PADD in favor of mirroring the doctor’s position.

“So what happened when I left you guys alone?” she asked smirking.

Hayley rolled her eyes, “We said good night and came upstairs.”

“I mean between Mikaela and McCoy.”

“Didn’t we have this conversation already?”

“C’mon, Hayley,” she whined. “Give me something!”

She sighed, “They were acting really awkward and were being extremely polite to one another. Almost like they’d just met.”

Daneel scoffed, “I swear to God, my sister is so stupid sometimes.”

“Be nice.”

“I’m serious! For an empath, she can be _so_ blind.”

“Good night Daneel,” Hayley said pointedly turning away.

“Oh please. Don’t act like you don’t see it too. Look, all we have to do is nudge them in the right direction. They should take care of everything else themselves.”

“We?” she asked, turning back to face the younger girl. “When did this become we?”

“Please? I don’t know McCoy well enough to do this on my own.”

Hayley groaned, flopping onto her back as she ran through the possibilities. It was clear that Bones and Mikaela were meant to be together, if you believed in things like fate that is. And they would definitely be happy together. Maybe all they did need was a little nudge. They were her two best friends. Who better to nudge them than her? But then again, what if she was reading the signs wrong? She was the farthest thing from a relationship expert. She could be reading way too much into this. But Daneel was seeing it too. But then again…Daneel. She was young and stupid and generally saw the world the way she wanted. Her judgment wasn’t exactly the best either.

Going over in her head everything she knew about McCoy and Mikaela, everything she’d seen between the two, everything they’d confessed (or tried to deny), she finally made a decision. Sighing, she rolled until her bare feet hit the carpet.

“Come on,” she told Daneel, grabbing the hoodie draped over her desk chair and pulling it on.

“Where are we going?” she asked while still getting out of bed and slipping on boots.

“We’re gonna need some help.”

“So you’re in?”

She sighed, “Unfortunately it seems I have no choice.”

Giggling, Daneel followed the doctor out the door, “So where _are_ we going?”

Hayley sighed again, “To the one person I think will be even slightly willing to help us out. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we’re going to see Jim Kirk.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, this chapter now takes place after the trip. Basically from what I remember, the trip was mainly about Daneel trying to get her sister and McCoy together.

_One Week Later…_

Hayley grinned into her chocolate milkshake as she lounged in the plastic chair outside the ice cream shop. She couldn’t help but feel proud of herself. And Daneel of course. After all it had been the younger girl who thought of locking McCoy and Mikaela in that closet. It had been like a stroke of genius. Sort of. More like an impulse that turned out really, really well. Sure, Bones and Mikaela were still really awkward around each other, but at least their feelings were out in the open now.

“Hayley,” a deep, calming, and very familiar voice called. She sighed as a shiver ran down her spine. If only her own dysfunctional could-be relationship was as easily solved.

She turned in her seat to smile at the approaching Vulcan, “Spock. How are you today?”

“Quite satisfactory,” he nodded to her before sitting down in the free chair across the table. “May I ask why you are not preparing for our departure?”

Her head tilted to the side. She’d almost forgotten about that. Yesterday, after returning to Starfleet HQ, they’d been informed that all survivors of the Titan would be reassigned to the Enterprise. Even Elba got a position in security, her innate strengths and abilities making her a natural amongst the other officers. It had been a momentary relief until they were told while they were away Starfleet had gotten a message from a small planet in a neighboring system that they were being devastated by a disease with all the symptoms of the gas Hayley was working with. Hopefully it was just a coincidence. If not they had a bigger problem on their hands. Namely, how the Romulans got ahold of the gas in the first place. As far as she knew, the only remnants left were safely locked up on the Enterprise – which could only mean either that damned Romulan doctor from the Titan had gotten some away without her knowledge, or the Enterprise had a traitor or intruder on board who stole her samples.

The Enterprise was scheduled to depart that evening after a full systems check. The crew had about an hour before they would be forced to board. The first thing Hayley planned on doing was checking all her samples, equipment, notes, and vaccine prototypes to make sure everything was present and accounted for, and perfectly intact. If so she’d be able to report back to Admiral Pike (thank _God_ she didn’t have to deal with Carlson anymore) that he didn’t need to worry about a leak. If not…well she just didn’t want to consider that option.

After leaving the briefing, Hayley had wandered off on her own, just needing a moment to sort out what all needed to be done. Mostly she just tried not to think about it too much. The relaxing vibe from the vacation still had a hold on her and she didn’t feel the need to break it just yet, not until completely necessary. But she really should be getting back and packing all her things she needed for the probably month long mission.

“I just needed a moment to myself,” she shrugged. “I’ll go pack in a minute.”

He nodded, turning to watch as a group of men passed by, all staring and clearly laughing at the Vulcan. Hayley glared at them until they disappeared around the corner. It irked her how many people were still prejudiced against aliens, even in today’s society. How could anyone be so stupid?

“Is there something you needed Spock?” Hayley asked randomly, wanting to distract herself. “Or were you simply wondering where I was?”

He blinked at her, coming out of his own train of thought, “Yes. Dr. McCoy was searching for you. He wishes to discuss the supplies you will need for the mission.”

She nodded. It wasn’t surprising that Bones needed to talk to her, or that he had sent Spock after her. After all, the Vulcan always seemed to know where she was, even on those rare occasions that she didn’t want him to. But she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed that Spock hadn’t looked for her simply to be with her. She sighed. Her feelings were really starting to get out of hand. At this rate, she’d never be able to concentrate on work, which was now more important than ever.

Forcibly pushing all that to the back of her mind, Hayley stood, tossing away her now empty cup before turning back to her friend ( _just_ a friend) with a smile. Spock stood up as well, walking towards her to escort her back to Starfleet’s Medical building where she and Bones were assigned until they shipped out. He placed his hand on her lower back so they wouldn’t be separated as they made their way through the crowded streets. At least she assumed that was why he did it. Vulcans weren’t very touchy feely, including Spock, even if he had always tolerated her “human moments”. And really, that was just because he grew up with it.

“Mr. Spock!” someone called, causing the two friends to turn back around. A young woman in a red cadet’s uniform with long black hair held high in a ponytail was jogging towards them, a large bright smile on her face.

“Miss Austen,” Spock greeted as the woman stopped in front of them, folding his hands behind his back.

The woman glanced at Hayley, dismissing her just as quickly, “I heard the Enterprise was back, and what happened with the Titan. Just awful!”

Spock inclined his head in agreement, but didn’t comment, “May I introduce Dr. Hayley Spencer. Hayley, this is Miss Nova Austen.”

Hayley forced a smile, not liking how this woman was eyeing Spock, “Nice to meet you.”

Nova’s face fell as she looked at the woman standing close to Spock’s side, “And you. Forgive me, but I don’t recognize your name. Do you work with Mr. Spock?”

“Actually, I’m one of the survivors of the Titan. The Enterprise was nice enough to pick us up after we sent out a distress signal.” And that was about all she could say on the matter. They’d all had explicit instructions not to disclose any details about what happened on the Titan, understandably.

“Oh that’s nice,” her face brightened again as she turned her attention back to Spock, “So kind of you to look after her after all that.”

Spock raised an eyebrow, but Hayley cut him off, not wanting to get into it with this woman who, although they’d only just met, got under her skin like no other. “It is, isn’t it? No if you’d excuse us, I have an appointment that I can’t miss and Spock was kind enough to escort me.”

Before they could turn away, however, another voice called out to them. Hayley turned to see McCoy slowly striding over to them.

“Thanks for finding her for me, Mr. Spock,” the southern man says when he’s in earshot. “It’s a little scary how you two always knows where the other is.”

Hayley grinned at her pseudo-brother, “Hey Bones. You wouldn’t happen to know where Mikaela is, would you?”

She watched with satisfaction as his ears turned pink in embarrassment. He mumbled something that sounded awfully like an insult and rolled his eyes, but refused to answer the question, making Hayley grin wider.

“C’mon,” McCoy took her elbow and tried to tug her away. “We still need to go over some things.”

She sighed, “I know, I know. Don’t need to be so pushy.” She turned back to Nova, “It was nice meeting you.”

“If you’ll excuse us,” Spock said politely, following the two retreating humans quickly.

“Oh sure, yeah,” Nova called after them. “See you later.”

Hayley chuckled as he came up beside her, “Who was that?”

She didn’t expect Bones to answer, but he did, chuckling, “Nova Austen. She was a class below Jim and me. Had the biggest crush on the hobgoblin over there. Everyone knew. Could never get her to shut up about him.”

She could feel Spock sigh in exasperation beside her though he made no sound. Clearly, the Vulcan didn’t feel the same whatsoever. She tried her hardest not to smirk at that thought. Part of her was glad that if he couldn’t be attracted to her, at least he also wasn’t attracted to anyone else. God bless Vulcan training. Even if he was attracted to someone he wouldn’t let it govern his decisions. She would always be safe in the knowledge that she’d never have to see him be lovey dovey with a woman, no matter how in love he might become. Dear God, was she really thinking about this _now_. She shook her head, trying to clear it as the three of them climbed up the stairs outside of the medical building.

“Well,” she said, coming back to the conversation at hand, “I guess it’s a good thing you’re not her teacher anymore.”

Spock tilted his head, “Indeed.”

* * *

PADD in hand, Hayley walked onto the bridge of the Enterprise several hours later after checking Medical Bay top to bottom along with Doctor McCoy. They couldn’t find any sign of foul play, so she was utterly certain there wasn’t a leak on board. That was comforting. Now she’d been called to the bridge for a quick send-off, meeting with Pike who had come aboard with them to say goodbye.

When she came off the turbolift, Kirk was in his position in the captain’s chair, Pike and Spock flanking him. Bones was a few steps away, reading something off his own PADD while Mikaela stood obnoxiously close to him, playfully pretending to snatch it away from him while Daneel laughed from beside them. He kept growling at her to stop, but couldn’t help the corner of his lips from twitching upward. Elba was standing near Chekov who was showing her how the equipment in front of him worked. Zooey was in her new position at the communications station, a wide smile permanently etched onto her face.

Hayley cleared her throat as she approached the three men in the middle of the room. Pike turned and smiled at her, “Ah, Doctor Spencer. We were wondering where you were.”

“I suggested sending out a search party,” Jim grinned before turning back to the Ensign who held a PADD for him to sign.

“My apologizes, Admiral. I was organizing my things and it took a little longer than I had thought.”

Pike waved her off, “That’s quite alright. I hope everything is satisfactory – everything in its place?”

She knew exactly what he was asking. Smiling reassuringly, she nodded, “Everything’s perfect, thank you. As much as that vacation was much needed, I’m really glad to be back at work.”

He took a deep breath, nodding in understanding, “I’m sure you are. Well,” he clapped Jim on the shoulder in a very fatherly manner, “I best be off. Good luck everyone, and God speed.”

The crew that felt close to Pike all said their goodbyes (Hayley and Spock gave him the Vulcan salute) while the rest all nodded respectfully as he entered the turbolift, saluting to the room at large as the doors closed behind him. He winked at the last moment, though Hayley wasn’t sure if it was directed at her, Kirk, or Spock as they were still clumped together in the center of the room where he’d been looking.

“Sulu,” Jim called, spinning around in his chair to face forward. “How long?”

“Just need the go ahead from engineering, Captain,” Sulu answered promptly.

Quickly connecting to the intercom, Kirk called, “Kirk to Engineering. How we doing, Scotty?”

“Oh, five minutes and she’ll be singing your praises, Cap,” Scotty’s voice drifted over the intercom.

“That’s what I like to hear! Thanks, Scotty. Kirk out.” Kirk spun around again. “Kaela, show Daneel around. Elba, to your station please.”

“Yes, Captain,” Elba said, smiling proudly at how well she was doing so far before hurrying off the bridge with Mikaela and Daneel who both looked as though they were fighting rolling their eyes.

“Bones, Hay-bail–”

Hayley cut Jim off, “I’m sorry. What did you just call me?”

“What?” he grinned unrepentantly. “I thought you could use a nickname.”

“No.”

“Oh c’mon!”

“No.”

“How about…” Jim leaned his head back thinking. During the vacation, Kirk had come to realize that he looked like an idiot trying to get Hayley to fall for him like any other woman would and they quickly fell into a weird brother/sister relationship where they constantly annoyed each other. Or, at least, that’s how Hayley saw it. Either way, Kirk still annoyed the crap out of her. “Baby doll?”

“Hell no.”

“Rabbit?”

“Where did you get that?”

“The White Rabbit? _Alice in Wonderland_? We watched that at the cabin, remember? You said it was one of your favorite books growing up.”

Hayley blinked. “Huh. Who knew you paid attention.”

“So yes?”

“No,” she grinned.

He sighed, still smiling, “You are no fun, Hayley.”

“Excuse me, Captain,” a small voice asked, causing everyone to turn.

Jim’s eyes widened in shock as he took in the tall leggy female in front of him, “Ensign Austen.” He glanced up at his First Officer only to find the Vulcan had already retreated to his station. “I’m sorry to say I was unaware you were transferred to the Enterprise.”

She smiled politely, “I’m sure you were too busy. You _are_ the Captain after all.”

Hayley resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Great, the woman was a kiss-ass on top of everything else. This was going to be a long trip.

Kirk cleared his throat, choosing to ignore that comment, “Yes well, what was it you needed, Ensign?”

Hayley wandered away, not needing to hear all that. Instead, she went and sat on the console next to Spock like she had the first time she came onto the bridge. She waited a moment, watching as Bones grew more and more amused by whatever the Ensign was telling Kirk who looked like he was holding back laughter as well.

“So what happened with Nova?” she asked Spock in their language.

He glanced up at her, expression blank, “She was one of my most accomplished students in xenophysiology. Unfortunately, she misinterpreted a conversation between her and myself and believed I had propositioned her. I carefully explained my Vulcan beliefs, including Kolinahr, however I was later informed by a colleague that she may have misinterpreted that as a way of me saying I could not form a relationship although I wished to. I was forced to transfer her to another class. It did not seem to hinder her resolve however.”

Hayley bit her lip to stop from laughing. Poor Spock. He really didn’t understand how to make himself understood to women. Then again, what man did? It just seemed worse for the Vulcan. Still, she felt a little smug that she was the only woman that Spock willingly sought out on nearly a daily basis.

“Well I think she still thinks that way, sweetie,” Hayley told him, looking over to see Nova shooting glances at the Vulcan.

Spock sighed, “Unfortunately, you may be correct.”

“No, I am correct. No maybe about it.” She looked down at her oldest friend and smiled, coming up with a plan that would help him get the Ensign off his back and, as an added bonus, she would have an excuse to be as close to Spock as possible. Perhaps even more so than usual.

“Hayley,” Kirk called her over. At least he dropped the nicknames.

Sliding off the console, Hayley paused by Spock, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, sweetie. Everything will work out.” She bent down and, before he could comment, pressed her lips to his cheek and hurried away. From some of the startled glances she got from the workers around the room, everyone had seen her small display of affection. Nova especially looked shocked, her jaw practically on the floor. Bones and Jim looked far too smug for their own good.

“You needed me, _Captain_?” Hayley raised an eyebrow, refusing to feel embarrassed.

“Right,” the grin was still firmly planted on his face. “You and Bones can head back to Medical now. We’re almost ready to go.”

Hayley nodded, called a goodbye to Zooey (who also looked smug) and Spock before following McCoy into the turbolift, ignoring the continued dumbfounded expression Ensign Austin was sending her. When they were alone, Hayley turned to the other doctor only to see him smiling knowingly down at her.

“Not a word,” she said, looking straight forward.

“I didn’t say anything,” he chuckled.

“No but you were thinking.”

“Not against the law.”

“It should be.”

He laughed at her. She couldn’t help but chuckle as well.

“Feeling a bit territorial, are we?” he asked, still laughing.

“I thought I said not to say anything!” she sighed, shaking her head. “It’s not like that and you know it.”

He scoffed, “Whatever you say, Hayley.”

They spent the rest of the turbolift ride and the walk back to their offices in companionable silence. But Hayley couldn’t help but linger on what he said. Was she really that obvious?


	17. Chapter 17

Hayley leaned forward slightly so that Spock could gather more of her hair. She hadn’t even had to ask him to do it this time. When she came into the Rec Room about half an hour ago and sat down on the ground in front of him, she had every intention to simply use his legs as a backrest while she worked on her PADD. He was the one to absently begin braiding the caramel locks. Not that she was complaining. Actually, it was entirely relaxing, feeling him gently tug his fingers through each lock before carefully integrating it into his design. She found herself almost purring with pleasure.

Across the room, a collective male groan made her glance up. Zooey was doing a little happy dance at the table where she, Bones, Kirk, and Sulu were playing poker. The guys were all scowling impressively at her though she didn’t notice, too busy collecting her earnings. Mikaela and Daneel were sitting nearby, attempting to teach Elba and Chekov a much simpler card game while laughing at the guys’ expense. Vi and Scotty weren’t currently present, but they had been sitting on the couch opposite Spock, watching a movie when Hayley first arrived. Funny, she hadn’t even noticed them leave.

The doors swished open, announcing the arrival of another crew member. Hayley looked up to see Nova Austen walk in and immediately head for where Spock was, stopping short when she noticed his position with Hayley.

“Hello, Nova,” Hayley decided to play nice. After all, the woman hadn’t actually done anything to her yet, simply annoyed her for past slights.

“Doctor,” she answered stiffly. So much for politeness. In a much more chipper tone she said, “Mister Spock.”

“Ensign,” he greeted in a distracted tone, nudging Hayley so he could gather the rest of her hair.

Nova frowned slightly before sitting down across from them. “I was wondering if you would be so kind as to go over some of files I’ve received from the science department when I arrived.” She smiled proudly at Spock, completely ignoring the doctor in front of him.

Hayley could almost feel his mind whirring behind her, trying to come up with a probable, yet honest excuse _not_ to do as she asked. Instead, Hayley answered for him, “Sorry, but he already promised to play chess with me.” It was mostly the truth. He had told her when they first got back from the cabin that they’d have a rematch _at some point_ once they were on the ship again, if for no other reason other than to keep her mind off of the possible impending doom (Daneel’s words, not hers). Why couldn’t that point in time be now?

She leaned her head back to look up at Spock, puppy dog eyes wide. His lips twitched in response before he pushed her head back up to finish her hair, “I do not wish to injure you with a hairpin, Hayley. Please be still.”

She rolled her eyes, ignoring Nova’s glare, “It’s just a hairpin Spock. I doubt you could ‘injure’ me with it.”

“I would rather not test that theory,” he said dryly, inserting said hairpin into a thick curl.

She giggled, rolling her eyes again as Nova cleared her throat, “Well perhaps some other time, then.”

“Unfortunately, that may not be possible, Ensign,” McCoy said as the group wandered over from the poker table, Zooey smiling widely while counting her takings as Kirk and Sulu scowled at her. “Spock has been assigned to assist Doctor Spencer and me in the lab for the bulk of this mission. If you have any questions, I’m sure any number of people in the science department would be glad to help.”

Hayley smiled widely as Bones coyly winked at her before going to join Mikaela. Nice to know at least one person was on her side. Not that none of her other friends wouldn’t be, but she simply didn’t want to get them involved. Mikaela especially would be on her ass about getting together with Spock if Hayley decided to talk to her about the painful bubble of jealousy that pressed inside her chest anytime Nova came around Spock, clearly trying to flirt with him. She’d rather suffer in silence than be hounded by her friends. McCoy at least knew to help without bugging her about it. He knew she’d talk about it when she was ready and not before. Weird how well he knew her after such a short period of time.

A few moments later, Hayley was seated across from Spock at one of the tables scattered about the room, the chess set standing tall between them with Kirk on her right and Nova (stubborn, annoying woman) on her left. Occasionally Jim would lean over and whisper advice in her ear. Sometimes she’d listen, others she didn’t, just to annoy him. It didn’t matter either way. Spock still let her win, as always.

* * *

Hayley gripped the now familiar handle of the sword and went into a defense pose, waiting for Sulu’s next attack. Sweat trickled down her temple, tickling her skin, and her tank top clung to her body uncomfortably. She took another step back as Sulu neared, hyper-aware of her yoga shorts riding up slightly as if they had somewhere _to_ go.

The door to her right swished open, distracting her long enough for Sulu to make his move. Hayley had to scramble to block his advance, retreating back to regain her footing. She didn’t have time to check who had come in, just assuming it was Mikaela who had the next one-on-one training session with Sulu. The resident fencing expert finally relented after Hayley was able to push back a couple feet, allowing her to go down half her water bottle. When she looked up from nearly drowning herself, she flinched. Nova was standing on the other side of the room, stretching and generally ignoring the other two officers. Sulu was glancing between the two women, looking like he was deciding exactly what to do, until he finally walked up to the Ensign.

“I’m sorry,” he told her. “But I have this whole training room reserved for the day.”

She glanced back at Hayley before answering, “Oh, I thought you two were done.”

“Nearly, but I have another student coming in in half an hour.” He paused, turning back to the other woman, “Unless you’re done for today, Hayley?”

Chewing on her lip, she thought about it and shrugged, “I suppose I could use a bit of a break. Not to mention, there’s still a lot to do before we get to Tartarus. I’m sure McCoy and Spock could use my help.”

Nova scowled at her before smiling at Sulu and moving to the middle of a mat, facing a mirror as she began to run through some aerobics. Sulu came to sit on the floor with Hayley and help her stretch out some of her sore leg muscles.

“Wait,” Nova said suddenly, spinning around to talk to Sulu again, “Did you just say you were conducting lessons?”

“Hmm,” he murmured, his attention still on Hayley. “Just for Hayley, Mikaela, Zooey, Vi, Elba, and now Daneel as well. They asked a while back and the Captain approved as long as it didn’t take up too much time.”

She opened her mouth to answer, only to be interrupted by the intercom coming to life, Kirk’s voice asking Sulu to return to the bridge.

“Tell Mikaela to wait for me,” he asked Hayley as he headed to the door, not waiting for an answer.

She sighed, “So much for going back to work.”

An awkward silence enveloped the room, though Hayley didn’t think much of it. Silences, even awkward ones, rarely bothered her. Instead she laid down on a mat and forced herself to relax. She was almost always tense lately, and it felt nice to just lie there for a while.

“So, um…” Tense feeling was back. She opened her eyes to look at Nova who looked rather uncomfortable. “I was wondering…if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine, but…um…” Hayley felt a surge of pity for the girl. She clearly didn’t mean harm. It wasn’t fair to Nova that she was constantly fighting the urge to throttle her. “How is it that you and Mister Spock know each other?” Nevermind then. The girl deserved it. And what was with her calling him Mister Spock still? She wasn’t in school anymore and he wasn’t her teacher. She really needed a wakeup call.

Hayley shrugged, not showing her internal rant on her expression, “It’s not that big of a deal, actually. We grew up together. His parents are my Godparents. Really astounded most of the crew. Especially Jim.” She rolled her eyes, chuckling.

“You’re really close with the Captain, huh?” Nova questioned, head tilted slightly to the side.

“I’m close to a lot of people on the ship,” Hayley corrected. “They’re my friends. It’s important to be able to trust the people that could potentially save your ass during a life threatening mission.”

Nova bit her lip and nodded, thinking over the doctor’s words. Hayley closed her eyes again, knowing Nova would get around to speaking eventually. Even if that’s not what she wanted. She wished she didn’t have to wait for Mikaela. Then she could go and hang out with Bones and Spock, even if they would be working it’d be more fun than sitting here with Nova.

“Um…” Nova began, causing Hayley to open her eyes again. “I don’t really have much battle training, and I don’t really know many people yet. Would you be willing…um… to…you know…”

“Train you?” Hayley finished, beginning to get annoyed by Nova’s stuttering. There was a glint in the other woman’s eye as she nodded that Hayley didn’t like. She couldn’t be sure, of course, but she had a feeling Nova wasn’t being completely honest right now. Oh well. If she wanted to train, Hayley could train her. Shrugging, she pushed herself to her feet, “May as well. Mikaela won’t be here for a while.”

Grinning, Nova led the way to the middle of the room before going into a classic, overly dramatic pose. Hayley raised her eyebrow, standing still, “Okay…just show me what you _do_ know, and we’ll take it from there.”

Nova grinned again, nodding and lunging forward. Hayley easily side-stepped her, watching as she stumbled to try to stay upright before coming at the doctor again.

Half an hour later, Nova was on her back on the ground, having been thrown there by Hayley – again – when Mikaela and Sulu walked in together, freezing on the threshold. Hayley glanced up and nodded in greeting before looking back down at her victim – or, um student. Whatever. Nova hadn’t actually needed teaching. She was rather proficient, but Hayley was better with her years of Vulcan training on her side. Nova was now bruised and beaten, and apparently ready to give up as she hadn’t moved from her sprawled position on the floor. The doctor part of Hayley kicked in and she kneeled down next to the other woman, careful to keep a distance in case she tried to use this as a ploy to get the upper hand. It turned out to be unwarranted. Nova groaned in pain as Hayley lifted up her arm to check her pulse.

“You’ll be fine,” she said in her stern-yet-comforting-doctor voice.

“Geez, Hayley,” Mikaela said as she approached. “Didn’t you warn her about your badass Vulcan moves before you sparred?”

Nova blinked up at the two women as Hayley allowed a small smirk to play on her lips momentarily before clearing her face of all emotion once more. “She’ll be fine,” she reiterated, gently helping Nova to her feet and escorting her out. Sulu and Mikaela were chuckling as the two women moved out to the hall, heading for Medical Bay so Nova could get a pain reliever.

When they arrived, Hayley immediately took the other woman to a biobed, lowering her on gently before asking a nearby nurse to give her something for the pain. Spock and McCoy came out of the adjoining lab and gaped at her (at least Bones did), Kirk trailing behind with a satisfied smirk.

“What happened?” Bones growled. “Sulu called ahead to tell me you were bringing in Ensign Austen.”

She shrugged, “We were training.”

“Jesus Christ!” he muttered, looking at the readings the bed was delivering. “This looks more like a beating, Hayley!”

Nova weakly shook her head, eyes darting quickly to Spock, “Just training…asked her to…”

“See,” Hayley said calmly. “Told you.”

Jim started chuckling, coming up behind her. “Nice job, Rabbit.” He obnoxiously slapped her on the back, causing her to stumble forward and force McCoy to catch her. She turned to glare at him as he continued to smirk. She blamed that smirk (and the dreaded use of that nickname) for what she did next.

Quick as lightening, her hand shot out, gripping the space between Kirk’s shoulder and neck until his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he dropped to the ground with a loud thud.

“Hayley!” Bones scolded.

She sighed, “I know, I know. Sorry. I guess I’m a bit wound up right now.”

He huffed, bending down to pick up the fallen Captain and take him to his own biobed. She turned to Spock who, as usual, looked completely neutral about everything he had just witnessed, except for a tiny twinkle of amusement in his eyes that had her grinning. Walking past him, she entered her lab and dug through a locker, looking for a change of clothes as she was still wearing her icky work-out gear. She could shower in the decontamination room. Wouldn’t be the first time.

Bending over, she tried to find a pair of socks she knew for certain she had thrown in there when they first re-boarded. When she found them she stood, smiling victoriously as she spun around, clothes in hand, only to stop short at the sight of a blushing Vulcan in the doorway. With a start she realized he must have had a perfect view of her ass as her head was deep in the locker. With the aid of the yoga shorts, he must have had quite an eyeful. Even so, it was strange to see Spock being so affected. He never had before, no matter what she’d been wearing. Or she never caught him. That thought was unsettling. She swallowed a lump in her throat, tried and failed to not blush, and hurried away. She could deal with that later.

As she passed Jim’s biobed, she noticed him starting to stir. She may know how to do the Vulcan Nerve Pinch, but it wasn’t always as effective as when a Vulcan did it. She was only human, after all. She paused, intending to apologize, but when he saw him pout at her, changed her mind.

“Don’t call me Rabbit,” she said cheekily before trotting away, leaving Kirk gaping after her. She felt a lot better now.


	18. Chapter 18

Hayley was practically vibrating with excitement as she stood in the lift between Spock and McCoy. Both men seemed much more composed than her, though Bones did have a small secretive smile on his face. Together they were heading to the bridge to inform the Captain that they had finally, _finally_ finished a preventive vaccine. They still had to perform a few human tests to make sure it was safe, but Hayley was confident that nothing should go wrong. She’d even taken the time to make certain it wouldn’t have a bad reaction to Kirk’s overly sensitive system.

Her hand tightened on the hypo she’d snuck out of the lab earlier. Well, tried to sneak out. She was pretty sure Spock had spotted her, eyebrow raised, but he hadn’t said anything. McCoy had been a bit too distracted at the time to notice. Mikaela had come in to simply hang out and took to sitting on his desk. In the middle of his desk to be exact, keeping him from doing any of his backlogged paperwork. He had grumbled for a solid five minutes before caving and leaning back in his chair, chatting about whatever nonsense the Betazoid could come up with.

The door whooshed open revealing a half empty bridge. It was nearing the end of the Alpha Shift and only a few officers were still at their stations. When there was nothing immediate to worry about, Kirk would often allow certain unneeded individuals to retire a few minutes early. It seemed this was one of those times. Smiling, Hayley walked off the lift without waiting for permission to board the bridge and walked up behind the Captain’s chair where Kirk was conveniently distracted by a com to Pike. Perfect.

With lightning fast reflexes, she flipped the hypo around to hold it correctly in her fist and jabbed it into Kirk’s neck. He cursed loudly and spun around, hand shooting up to rub at his injury. She smiled sweetly as he scowled at her before turning to the com to explain, “We finished, sir. I was just making sure there were no bad allergic reactions we’d need to look out for. As the good Captain here,” she patted his shoulder while he continued to pout, “has the longest list of allergies on the ship, I thought it best just to start with him.”

Pike’s lips twitched, “Understandable, Doctor, but may I suggest informing the Captain before you decide to use him as a guinea pig?”

Biting back a snicker she could hear echoed from a few different sources around the room, Hayley nodded to her Admiral and allowed Kirk to finish whatever he’d been reporting. She pointedly ignored the amused looks she got from some of the surrounding crew, including Bones and (to an extent) Spock.

When he disconnected with Pike, Jim spun in his chair to continue pouting at her, “Was that really necessary?”

She raised an eyebrow, “Would you have allowed it, if I asked?”

He nodded in understanding, “So you’re really finished then?”

“Just need to finish the tests for allergies and the like,” Bones explained. “If all goes well, we’ll be able to have a few dozen or so ready for when we land. Once we’re there and we know more about what we’re up against Hayley and Spock can make more relatively quick. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“We’ll be fine,” Hayley decided to assure the crew who were obviously listening in. They had all been there when they found the Titan and had seen the devastation this gas could cause. Clearly they were worried about what they were going to find upon arrival this time. “I’m…ninety-eight percent positive.”

Kirk snorted, “Ninety-eight?”

She shrugged, “There’s always room for error.”

He rolled his eyes as he spun back around, “How long until we reach Tartarus, Mr. Sulu?”

“Thirty-six hours, give or take a few minutes,” he answered.

“Way to be exact, Mr. Sulu,” Kirk chuckled.

“There’s always room for error,” Sulu grinned, mimicking Hayley.

“We’ll be ready,” Hayley promised, deciding to just ignore the navigator in favor of patting the Captain’s shoulder once more before turning on her heel and walking back to the lift. Spock silently followed, ever her constant companion. She was glad. She’d need his help if she wanted to finish prepping all those hypos before they docked tomorrow.

* * *

It was late. Really, really late. Her eyes burned from the strain and her head had that weird cottony feeling she learned to associate with the beginnings of sleep deprivation. How long ago was it that she’d last slept? She could hardly remember, her focus too absorbed in the hypos lining her work station. Spock had assisted her until he was called away for his shift on the bridge. Bones probably would have come to help if it weren’t for the accident in engineering that left two men with multiple broken bones and concussions. So she had been left to her own devices, which meant she’d missed dinner, and had yet to go back to her quarters though the night cycle had begun a good six hours ago. She knew the tired feeling starting to set in would disappear soon enough. She just needed to work through it. With coffee. Coffee would be good.

As if her thoughts had magically called it into being, a blue mug appeared next to her elbow, steam gracefully swirling up from the dark liquid within. Hayley blinked at it in surprise for a few minutes, her groggy mind unable to form a rational reason for the drink to pop into existence. Finally, a spark of understanding flared in her mind and she turned her head up to smile at Spock.

“Thank you,” she stifled a yawn before taking a long gulp of coffee. It burned her tongue and throat, but still tasted alright. She preferred the real stuff on Earth over the replicated crap the ship provided, though.

“I assume you will not heed my advice to return to your quarters for the remainder of the night cycle,” he said dryly, watching as she quickly downed half the contents of her mug.

“You assume correctly,” she nodded, leaning back in her chair as her back popped in protest. She’d been hunched over for too long again.

“It is illogical for you to continue working and not be properly alert when we reach Tartarus.”

“Ah, but that’s what this is for,” she indicated her mug before taking another scorching gulp. He simply stared at her, making her scowl, “It’s decaf, isn’t it?”

“Affirmative.”

She sighed in resignation, “I’ll take a nap later, I promise. I just don’t want to be caught without enough vaccines to go around.”

Spock looked around at all the hypos stacked neatly on her desk and tucked away in cases to be carried onto the planet, “I believe these are satisfactory. Unless you foresee a complication?”

Hayley shook her head, “I don’t want to take any chances.”

He didn’t say anything, so she took that as her winning the argument. She stood, stretching out her aching muscles. With the decaf, she guessed she could get a good two or three more hours in before she napped. But before she could sit back down, a strong arm wrapped around the back of her knees, knocking her feet out from under her. Another arm caught her around the lower back before she could hit the ground though.

“Spock!” she protested.

He ignored her, carrying her over to the cot she kept in the back of her office. He carefully tossed her onto it, causing her to bounce lightly as she huffed at him. She made to get back up, only to be pushed gently back down, followed by Spock lying down behind her, tangling their legs together and affectively trapping her while he tugged the worn quilt up and over them. She continued to huff but allowed him to tuck her against his chest, his chin resting on the top of her head. In this position, curled around Spock’s overly warm body with his voice practically a purr in her ear as he whispered for her to go to sleep, she couldn’t help but comply.

* * *

Hayley felt oddly cold when she woke. Normally she would have kicked off her blankets she got so hot during the night. Now however, she was curled into a tight ball in a feeble attempt to keep in the warmth that had previously been provided by a certain Vulcan. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up sleepily at the thought, looking around through bleary eyes. Where the heck had Spock gotten to? After a long moment rational thought began to drift back and she shrugged. He probably had to help Kirk with last minute preparations for the landing party.

Speaking of which, she had her own things to sort out. With a quick flick of the wrist she had flung the quilt out of the way and hopped over to her work station again, trying desperately not to stumble in her not-quite-awake state. She frowned as her vision focused. All the hypos she’d prepared for the landing party were missing as were all the cases for the colonists. All her work was finished and taken off to be loaded. And she knew just who’d done it. Spock must have woken early, as per usual, and done all her work for her. Curse his stupid Vulcan sleeping patterns. How she wished she could get by with as little sleep as he did without feeling like she was going to drop.

Secretly grateful for Spock’s unexpected thoughtfulness, Hayley took her newfound spare time to take a long shower in her quarters before dressing in her uniform and heading to the transporter room to meet the rest of the team. Naturally Kirk and McCoy were coming as well as Spock, Mikaela, Zooey, Elba, and a handful of other security officers. Hayley wasn’t entirely certain why Mikaela was going, but Zooey was needed in case of any language barriers. Of course, Bones was going, so Mikaela could have simply talked Jim into allowing her to tag along just so she wouldn’t have to stay and worry. Seriously, if Bones didn’t get his head out of his ass and ask her out soon, Hayley was going to forcefully knock some sense into that man.

Hayley did a quick visual check of all the cases before stepping up beside the first officer, “Lesek.”

Spock’s lips twitched, “You are welcome.”

She grinned, ignoring the stares of the few present who weren’t used to the two drifting off into their own world. McCoy had to clear his throat loudly to draw her attention. Without a word he handed her a handful of hypos to administer to the crew. She nodded in understanding.

“Alright everyone, since we aren’t sure of what exactly is happening on planet, Doctor McCoy and I will be administering the vaccine to everyone, just in case. This will keep everyone safe from infection while we’re down there.” She nodded to Bones to start while she finished, “We aren’t entirely sure how long these will last however, so if you feel even the smallest bit odd in any way, shape, or form, please let one of us know immediately. McCoy, Spock, and I are all carrying the cure if needed. Jim, you should be fine since I gave you one yesterday.”

The Captain grinned and bounded up onto the transporter platform, always ready for yet another adventure.


	19. Chapter 19

Tartarus was a desert planet, not unlike Vulcan. Actually the similarities between the two were far too close for comfort, in Hayley’s opinion. It was well known that Romulans and Vulcans never got along well, and if this was them, it could mean they were practicing for an attack on her home planet. Hayley shook her head, clearing her thoughts as they picked their way over rocks and sand toward the capital city. Her imagination really got the best of her sometimes. For all they knew this had nothing to do with the gas whatsoever. She could only hope that were true.

The President, or whatever he was called, was waiting for them as they approached the city hall, along with a few council members. Hayley tuned out their warm, close to desperate welcome and Jim’s charismatic reply in favor of gazing around her. Even the city reminded her a little too much of home. A warm presence drew up beside her, causing her gaze to flicker up to Spock. He too was looking around in slight shock and awe. She knew he sometimes missed home as much as she did, though they hadn’t really talked about it. Being on this planet that could potentially be in danger, while feeling a special connection to it just by sight, was almost too much to bare. Spock’s strong hand weighed heavy on her shoulder as he squeezed it in comfort.

Taking a deep breath, she turned away to follow the rest of the group indoors. The cool air-conditioning washed over her the moment she stepped over the threshold. She sighed. At least there was some differences in the culture. It made the situation slightly easier to deal with. They were led through a reception hall where people with stressed and anxious faces milled about and gawked at the federation officers practically marching through the building. Hayley noticed that about ninety percent of the populous (from what she could tell) was human. Tartarus had once been a barren planet, devoid of life, until settlers came and colonized it from all over. Many used it as a way to start fresh, begin a new life. And now they were being terrorized by a mysterious illness that could possibly be a Romulan attack. Hayley couldn’t blame them for gawking. This was, perhaps, their last chance to stop this thing, whatever it was.

They were led to a conference room of sorts, making Hayley huff quietly to herself. Here came the politics of the mission. It wasn’t enough to just save everyone, the damn politicians had to make sure everything would go their way. Judging by his expression, Kirk was about as annoyed as she was, though he hid it better than Bones, who was scowling openly at the President. She still wasn’t entirely sure that was what he was called, but (to herself anyway) it’s what she decided to call him. It was just easier. Especially since she didn’t particularly care. It was a few minutes before the murmur of voices started to make sense as Hayley forced herself to pay attention to the conversation.

“We’ve had many people working on this, but so far we haven’t been able to find what exactly is ailing the planet. It wasn’t until one of the few Starfleet officers in residence here got word of what happened on the Titan that we were able to find some clue. Admiral Pike assured us that if it was the same thing, you would be able to stop this madness.”

Jim nodded, “It won’t be a problem. Doctor Spencer is one of the survivors from the Titan and, along with the help from my CMO, Doctor McCoy and my First Officer, Science Officer Spock, they’ve been able to create a cure and a preventive vaccine. Once we’re able to confirm we’re treating the same thing, we’ll start handing out the hypos.”

The President looked like the weight of the world had just been lifted from his shoulders as he sagged back in his seat, “Thank you. Really. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t shown up.”

The Captain waved away the praise, “We’ll need to hear from everyone involved, even the officer who heard about the Titan. Anyone working with the medical aspects should see Doctor Spencer, Doctor McCoy, or Officer Spock.”

He nodded, “Of course. The officer and a few others who can give firsthand accounts are waiting to come in, then I’ll be happy to escort you to the hospital.”

As it turned out, it was a good thing that they had Mikaela along. Many of the witnesses were rather traumatized from seeing loved ones dying while they could do nothing, and hadn’t been given any care. It seemed all the planet’s resources were focused on those with the mysterious disease and the ones left over were left to pick up the pieces on their own. Most of the firsthand accounts had to be slowly coaxed out by the half-Betazoid while Hayley inconspicuously filmed it on her PADD for reviewing later. Everyone seemed to breathe a little easier when the last witness walked out of the room, taking most of the tension with them. Mikaela slouched in her seat between Hayley and Bones, and leaned over to check that her friend had gotten everything, nodding in approval at what she saw. Under the table Hayley could just spot McCoy’s hand reaching over and squeezing the half-Betazoid’s knee. She hid her smile behind her PADD as the last interviewee, the Starfleet Officer, walked in.

“Mom?” Jim’s shocked voice had his crew members’ heads snapping around to gape at him. Hayley pressed her lips together in a thin line to keep from saying anything. This was either going to be completely hilarious or completely devastating.

Turning back to face forward, Hayley looked more carefully at the blonde woman who had just walked in. Her hair was neatly pulled back in a regulation bun, gray strands standing out amongst the blonde. Her uniform was neat and pressed and her face was mostly smooth, a few wrinkles betraying her age. But her eyes showed none of the surprise at meeting family on some far off planet that Jim’s eyes were currently showing. They were, however, troubled, worry etched into every line of her face as she gazed at her youngest son. Hayley’s eyes flicked back to Jim in time to see him quickly rid his face of emotion, his eyes hardening. Every crewmember in the room seemed to tense up, ready to defend their Captain, verbally or physically, even from his own mother. After all, they were like a family, and no one was going to hurt their leader in any way, shape, or form if they had any say in it.

“Jim,” Winona Kirk’s voice was small yet strong, unsure but not trembling.

“What are you doing here?” her son asked, tone emotionless yet sharp – something he’d picked up from Spock, Hayley realized.

Winona looked startled a second before her expression cleared and she answered in an even voice, “I was assigned here about a year ago. I’ve been running communications between here and Starfleet Headquarters. A friend of mine from San Francisco lost her son on the Titan. She was the one that told me about what happened and what they’d been studying. When the same…disease started cropping up here, I immediately sent out a distress call to Starfleet.”

“It’s a gas, actually,” Hayley couldn’t help but correct neutrally. Winona’s eyes darted to her, tearing away from her son. “Not a disease. Who was the friend that told you about it?”

The older woman seemed to flounder for a moment, unsure what she should or shouldn’t say.

“This is Doctor Hayley Spencer, the creator of the cure for this currently unnamed gas and a survivor of the Titan,” Jim explained, sounding almost proud to have Hayley amongst his crew.

Winona’s eyes widened slightly and she gave a small nod of recognition, “Her name is Isabella Rice. She was one of my instructors when I was at the Academy.”

Hayley nodded. Doctor Rice’s mother had been a respected part of Starfleet for many years, her son following in her footsteps until the horrible events of the Titan. Too many good people had died that day.

Leaning over toward Mikaela, well aware of Winona’s wide-eyed stare, she whispered, “Remind me to send flowers to Doctor Rice’s mom.”

Lips twitching, Mikaela nodded in agreement.

“Well,” Hayley said louder, to the room at large. “I think it’s about time we go to the hospital, if everyone is ready.”

The President opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted as a small woman in terribly high heels came stumbling in, saying something about a dignitary needing him immediately or something like that. What Hayley understood was the President, no matter the seriousness of the situation, would take the call rather than look after the safety of his people.

Glancing at the somewhat stunned Officer Kirk in the middle of the room, he nodded to her, “I believe you can escort them, Officer? Excellent. I’ll be in my office if there is any issues.”

Whether or not Winona would object was left a mystery as the President swept out of the room, leaving the woman to huff in response and stare awkwardly at the Starfleet Officers frowning in front of her. Finally Jim cleared his throat, standing and walking around the table towards his mother, everyone following his lead. Zooey seemed almost glued to his side, offering silent support.

“After you,” he motioned, his tone clipped.

Winona opened her mouth to say something, but at the stern faces of her son’s crew she snapped it shut, sighing as she turned to lead them out of the building.


	20. Chapter 20

It was silent and awkward on the way to the hospital. Most of the crew present were close friends to Kirk and knew that his mother had basically abandoned him with his abusive step-dad and he didn’t get away until his teens years. And even then, though she didn’t know the particulars, Hayley knew he hadn’t had it easy up till Pike picked his beaten ass up off the bar floor and dragged him to Starfleet. So to say the Enterprise crew weren’t fond of Winona Kirk was a bit of an understatement. They followed their captain without complaint, however, as the woman led them through a town square, ominously devoid of life. 

“Where is everyone?” Jim asked.

Winona took a deep breath, “Most have locked themselves in their homes. Until we find out what has been happening, the doctors here thought it best to go out as little as possible, in case it’s airborne.”

Bones made a noise of approval from beside Hayley but otherwise didn’t comment and the group relapsed into silence. Hayley kept her eyes forward, trying not to look at the deserted streets that were far too familiar. A shiver ran down her spine anytime she did. The warmth of Bones and Spock on either side of her the only comfort at present. 

A plain white building at the end of the road came into view a second before Hayley recognized the intergalactic symbol for hospitals painted on the side. Mrs. Kirk led them up the white stone steps and into the air-conditioned entry. Hayley shivered in the sudden drop in temperature, moving to stand closer to Spock without drawing too much attention. She really didn’t need anyone poking at her and Spock’s not-relationship right now. They had far more important things to worry about. 

Winona seemed to know where to take them, leading them through a maze of clinically white corridors to a large lab at the back of the hospital. There were several desks lined up within the lab, papers and different science equipment scattered on every available surface. With a jolt, Hayley realized it reminded her of her lab on the Titan. A little too much so. She scowled at the room at large. There were just one too many similarities on this planet. It couldn’t all be a coincidence. 

“Doctor?” Mrs. Kirk called out. A loud shuffling was the only response for several minutes before a man’s balding head popped up behind the far desk. What little hair he had left was white and fluffy, standing on end as if he had recently been electrocuted. Large goggles were covering his eyes, making them looked larger, more bug-like. His steel gray tie was on crooked, the color of his forest green shirt sticking up oddly while his white lab coat hung off one shoulder. All in all, his appearance was quite comical and Hayley had to stifle a laugh along with Mikaela, Zooey, and Kirk. 

“Oh!” the man’s high-pitched squeaky voice forced them to stifle another laugh. “Hello! I didn’t know anybody was coming to see me!” He bounced up, clearly overexcited about the prospect of visitors, and flicked his goggles up to perch on the top of his head, “How lovely! Commander, wonderful to see you again!” he grinned, shaking Winona’s hand enthusiastically with both of his before turning to beam at the rest of his guests. “And who are all these lovely people?”

Mrs. Kirk cleared her throat before introducing the newcomers, stumbling slightly over the names. If the man found it strange that there was another Kirk present, he didn’t say. He merely smiled widely and welcomed them to his lab.

“I’m Dr. Isaiah Gray. Most people just call me Izzy. Feel free to do so yourselves.”

“Dr. Gray has been the leading scientist in this whole…debacle,” Winona explained haltingly. She sounded less sure of herself than when they first arrived. In fact, Hayley couldn’t help but notice how the woman seemed to be drawing into herself completely since she began leading them to the hospital, her eyes constantly shooting between her son and the people he was obviously close to. Hayley almost felt bad for the woman.

“Really?” Bones asked, stepping forward to look more closely at the chaotic room. “How far have you gotten to finding a cure?”

Izzy visibly deflated, “Ah, well, you see, I haven’t, that is to say, exactly, well, there hasn’t, I mean…”

“You haven’t been able to find anything,” Hayley cut in, desperate to stop the stuttering.

He sighed, running a hand over his bald patch, “No, I haven’t. I just can’t seem to find a large enough sample of what exactly is affecting these people. Or any sample really.” He sighed again, this time twisting his hands through his patches of white hair.

Mikaela stepped up beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder to help calm him, “It’s alright. We have a cure. And a preventive vaccine, as well.”

His eyes widened, “You do? That’s amazing! How did you do that?”

She laughed and shook her head, gesturing over her shoulder, “I didn’t. They did.”

Hayley smiled and carefully took out a hypo from her shoulder bag, holding it out for Izzy to see.

“Oh,” he gently reached out, hand hovering hesitantly near the delicate hypo, “May I?”

“Of course,” Hayley nodded. “This is the preventive vaccine but we have a couple dozen cures with us as well. And we can easily manufacture more if necessary.”

The elder scientist had his goggles back on, staring rapturously at the hypo as he held it up to the light, “My God. This is amazing!”

“It’ll be more amazing if it turns out to be useful,” Bones frowned, carefully taking back the hypo and replacing it in Hayley’s bag. “The chances of this being the same thing…”

“Yes, we know Bones,” Mikaela sighed. “Let’s not crush everyone’s hopes and dreams, shall we?”

Bones rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips as Izzy chuckled, “Well then, it seems you’ll be needing to see some of the patients yourself.”

“This is more Bones and Hayley’s expertise,” Kirk smirked at them. “While they check out the patients, perhaps we could see the maps of the areas most effected. If we can pinpoint an origin, maybe we can figure out how this all started. Mr. Spock, you join them as well.”

Hayley glanced up at Spock to see his shoulders relax slightly as he nodded to the Captain and followed Dr. Gray out the door, Hayley once more between him and Bones. One last glance back revealed Kirk frowning slightly before turning back to his mother with Zooey and Mikaela hovering nearby. As they maneuvered through the hospital halls, she couldn’t help but notice that her crewmates always kept themselves between her and any passers-by. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at their clear overprotectiveness. They were perfectly safe here, at least for now, and until any dangers became clear, it was stupid to hover so closely. Still, she couldn’t deny the warm feeling she got anytime Spock’s hand grazed her back, drawing her closer.

Luckily it wasn’t long before the halls became more crowded with hurrying personnel in various hospital uniforms. An intercom occasionally crackled on overhead, calling for this or that doctor or nurse to report to a specific area. Izzy led them to large glass doors with the words quarantine written across. Another set of glass doors stood about ten feet behind the first and beyond that a long hall with dozens of beds lined up like something out of an old war film. Patients lay unnaturally still in their cots, covered in blankets as nurses moved around checking vitals and distributing medicine. Izzy scanned his badge on a small scanner by the doors, causing them to open. Smiling, he motioned them in before following and allowing the doors to slide shut behind him.

“As the cause to their ailments is still under investigation, we’ve been forced to put all the patients into quarantine,” Izzy explained as he handed out rubbery blue jumpsuits. “You’ll have to wear coveralls and masks to enter. You understand.”

Hayley nodded, sighing as she slipped into the blue material. They were uncomfortable to say the least, baggy at first until zipped up when it contracted, fitting to her form, including a hood that she tucked her hair into and attached gloves that became like a second skin. Slipping the mask over her mouth and nose immediately made her feel like she was slowly suffocating. She never actually had claustrophobia, but she had a feeling she was going to get it with this mask on. This was going to have to be a quick trip. A glance at Spock had her relaxing. Partly because he really did look funny in that suit, but also because of the intense look in his eyes as he tracked her every move. If she were to have some sort of panic attack or something, he’d get her out patients be damned. He gave a small nod, cementing the thought, before gently nudging her after Bones who was already following Dr. Gray into quarantine.

McCoy moved to the closest bed with one of the worst patients, running his tricorder over her body while speaking quietly with her nurse. Hayley’s eyes were drawn to the beds with stark white sheets covering eerily people-like shapes. There were far too many of those, causing a shiver to run down her spine. A weak cough caught her attention to the side where a small child was lying in a bed, a stuffed rabbit clutched to his chest. He couldn’t have been more than six or seven. Looking around she noticed a few more children, most with a parent or guardian hunched over in chairs beside them, holding their hands and whispering words of comfort. 

Hayley caught the arm of a passing nurse, pulling him to a stop, “Excuse me, but where are that boy’s parents?”

The man sighed sadly before turning his eyes towards a couple sheet covered beds nearby. Tears filled her eyes as she nodded and allowed the man to walk away. She hesitated before going over to the little boy and carefully sitting on the bed next to him. Dark hazel eyes blinked up at her as she brushed sweat soaked bangs off his forehead. 

“Are you a nurse?” he rasped curiously.

“No,” Hayley shook her head, smiling sadly behind her mask. “I’m a doctor.”

“Oh,” his brow furrowed. “Are you here to make me better?”

Hayley paused. She didn’t want to lie or give him false hope. “I’ll try,” she decided was the best answer under the circumstances. A small smile graced his lips, melting her heart.

“What’s your name?” she asked when it became clear he wasn’t going to fall asleep or speak.

“Olin,” he whispered, eyes growing heavy as Hayley continued to stroke his hair. 

A large hand on her shoulder had her looking up, distracted. Spock stared down at her with an unreadable expression. Taking a deep breath she pulled back from Olin as a nurse bustled over. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She wasn’t normally one to get so emotionally involved. Maybe she’d spent too long burying her emotions like Vulcans. It couldn’t have been entirely healthy for her. After all, she was only human. On the other hand, this was a small child, alone and dying. Who wouldn’t have their heart strings pulled painfully by that? As if hearing her thoughts, Spock squeezed her shoulder again, drawing her out of her head and back to reality. She nodded to him in gratitude before moving toward Bones. 

He glanced up as she neared and handed her the tricorder, “Look familiar?”

Hayley couldn’t stop the large grin that spread across her face, disrupting her mask slightly and crinkling her eyes. “Dr. Gray?”

Izzy hurried over from where he had been talking to a nurse, “Yes? Yes, what is it? Anything I can help with? Have you found something?”

“Yes, actually,” Hayley reached into the bag she’d brought in and pulled out some hypos. “We’ll need to distribute these quickly before anyone gets worse. The children and worst cases first, of course.”

The man’s pale eyes widened, “You mean…you…”

“Yes, Dr. Gray,” she nodded, handing off more hypos with McCoy’s help to the surrounding staff. “These vaccines will help, but we should still monitor everyone closely, and after we’re finished we’ll have to give all the staff a preventive, just in case.”

“Yes, of course,” Dr. Gray nodded excitedly, practically bouncing where he stood as the nurses and doctors scattered to the patients. Hayley drifted toward Olin, hypo in hand while Izzy trailed after her, “I’ll go call city hall and inform them of this development then, shall I?”

Hayley nodded, “Yes, of course. We have things settled.” Olin whimpered lightly, distracting her as Izzy practically bolted from the room. She hushed the small boy, being as gentle as possible as she administered the hypo. His eyes fluttered open as she placed the empty spray on his bedside table. “Everything’s alright now, Olin. Everything’s going to be just fine.”


	21. Chapter 21

The effect of the vaccine was immediate. Hayley watched as patients around her began to take deeper, easier breaths. Olin, who she had stayed beside just in case, was gaining color in his cheeks again, and he wasn’t sweating or coughing as much. Soon the doctors gave an all clear to those still wearing the protective gear and they were able to shed the coveralls and masks.

After watching Olin drop off into a much more peaceful sleep than he’d probably gotten in a long time, Hayley wandered off the find Spock or Bones. The latter was busy with a few other doctors, so she settled down next to the Vulcan on a bench pushed to the side of the room. He silently handed her a plastic cup of steaming black coffee, making her smile. Just what she needed. She sighed, sinking down a little in her seat as she relaxed, stress finally rolling off her shoulders. They’d done what they came to do. All they had to do now was find out how the gas had broken out here. But for now she could enjoy the stillness of the moment.

“You have become attached to the child,” Spock said slowly, as if still thinking through his words.

Hayley watched him from the corner of her eye but couldn’t detect any emotion. For anyone else, that wouldn’t be weird. But for her? It was worrisome. “Yes,” she answered just as slowly. “I guess I have.”

“Do you intend to bring him back to the Enterprise?” he asked abruptly, startling her. Before she could even think of an answer he continued, “He has no family left to care for him.”

Finally, she turned her head to look at her dearest friend, “No he doesn’t. But,” Hayley turned back to stare at her hands wrapped around her coffee cup, “a Starship is hardly a place for a child.”

“Many children are raised quite adequately on Starships.”

She didn’t look up, “On ships like the Enterprise though?” She shook her head, “It would be too dangerous.”

A hand gripped her knee and his voice dropped to a whisper, “You wish to take him with us.” It wasn’t a question.

Hayley forced herself to raise her eyes to his, her resolve melting at the soft brown orbs gazing down to her very soul. Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly, “It doesn’t matter what I want, Spock. Yes, I want to be able to take that little boy as my own, but it’s not what’s best for him. I’m sure they’ll find a suitable home for him here on Tartarus.”

They stared at each other for a long time, getting caught up in the moment. When he finally spoke again, his voice was low, harsher than normal. It sent a thrill down her spine she really wished she could ignore, “One day, when you are ready, you will be a great mother.”

She smiled sadly at him and head-butted his shoulder playfully before turning back to her coffee. When her gaze traveled back to the room at large, she realized they had had an audience. Or, well, Bones. Same thing really. The doctor looked far too smug as he raised an eyebrow at her from across the room. She stuck her tongue out at him like a five year old, immediately feeling foolish but not regretting it as he chuckled and turned away. Whatever worked then. Spock vibrated next to her with a silent chuckle and the hand she hadn’t noticed was still on her knee squeezed gently before moving away. Strangely, she missed the warmth and comfort that small platonic touch gave her and she had to physically stop herself from pouting. 

They were interrupted by the doors sliding open and Jim leading a small stampede of people hurriedly into the room. Zooey, Mikaela, Winona and Elba were the only ones Hayley immediately recognized, but she could see the red shirts of the other two security personnel they’d brought along in case of emergencies. From the frantic looks on her friends’ faces, it was a good thing they had. Kirk hurried over to where they sat, Bones rushing over as well. The group of people caught up just as Hayley and Spock stood, ready to rush into whatever action needed to be done.

“We found where they’re hiding,” the Captain said before motioning for them to follow. 

Hayley dropped her coffee, ignoring the mess as she caught up with Mikaela. She didn’t bother asking who “they” were. If the gas was here, “they” could only be one thing. Romulans. A string of curses in English, Vulcan, and her secret language fell from her lips as they ran down the steps of the hospital.

“How?” Bones growled.

“Ask him,” Kirk snapped back, coming to a stop beside where Izzy was being watched by two of the local officers. The man was shaking and pale, looking like he was about to faint at any second.

“What’s going on?” Hayley asked calmly, not wanting to jump to any conclusions, but her short time on the Titan had made her a little more wary of people. 

“Izzy here,” Kirk growled out, smacking a heavy hand onto the shaking doctor’s shoulder, making the man whimper. “Was found contacting the Romulans. He was telling them all about your miracle cure and how you were saving all the people he helped become sick. Dr. Gray has been carefully selecting closed off neighborhoods to be test areas for the gas.”

Hayley’s eyes narrowed, “There are at least half a dozen children in there, and Lord only knows how many have already passed. How could you do something like this?”

“I had to!” he suddenly burst out, the shaking abruptly stopping as he glowered at her. “My family is all dead! I have nothing but my job and my life here! If I didn’t help them, they were going to kill me!”

“Well I doubt they’ll let you live now that we found out about everything,” Bones snapped.

Izzy’s eyes went wide and he paled worse than before.

“Take him to the Enterprise,” Kirk ordered, shoving the man to the two security officers Hayley couldn’t remember the names of. “Lock him in the bridge. We’ll deal with him later.”

Both men nodded, leading Izzy away to the designated teleport area as the others regrouped, deciding what to do next.

“Have you discovered the exact location of the Romulans, Captain?” Spock asked, folding his hands behind his back as he thought.

He shook his head, “Just a general area. Zooey used her computer skills to track the message Gray sent out.”

“You’re welcome,” Zooey grinned, ignoring the pointed looks.

“They’re hiding outside the city in the mountains.”

“Nothing more specific?” Hayley asked.

“I’ve downloaded as much info I could from his computer,” Zooey said, more seriously now. “I’ll be able to get something more specific when we get closer.”

“That’s a long and dangerous trek for a group of people who don’t know the area,” Bones muttered, gazing out at the rough distant mountains. “Be easy to get lost in a place like that.”

Winona cleared her throat, “I can take you.” She paused at the sudden silence as everyone turned to stare at her expectantly. “I mean, I’ve been in this area a long while now. I’ve been hiking in those mountains a few times. There are a couple areas that’d be good as a hideout that I know of.”

Hayley turned to glance at Jim, wondering how he felt about this, but his face was completely closed off. His usually expressive eyes were flat and dull, giving nothing away. Finally Jim gave a short nod, “Fine.” He turned to look down at Hayley, “Do you have any more preventive vaccines left?”

Digging through her bag a moment, she nodded and pulled out the hypo.

He nodded to his mother, “I don’t want any accidents.”

She nodded in understanding and stepped up to Winona, “This will keep you from getting infected.” When Winona tilted her head to the side, Hayley stuck her in the neck with the hypo, watching as the fill line went down until it landed on empty. She nodded once more and stepped away, biting back a chuckle at the disgruntled look on the Commander’s face. She looked just like Jim did when Bones had to give him a hypo. Catching the eye of said doctor, Hayley caught an identical look of amusement.

Kirk cleared his throat, “Well, lead the way then, Commander. No time to waste.”


	22. Chapter 22

Zooey had a small machine in her hand beeping steadily as they trekked up the mountain pass towards where Winona claimed there were caves hidden beneath some foliage. Hayley huffed as yet another curl fell from her haphazard up-do to dangle in front of her eyes. Dusting off her hands on her skirt, she tucked the rebellious lock behind her ear and took a look around. Zooey had paused beside her, taking a long gulp of water as the others settled around against large boulders and trees for a quick break. Jim was a little ways ahead talking quietly with his mother as they scouted out their trail. Hayley hoped they were patching up whatever semblance of a relationship they had.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled out her own canteen only to discover she had already finished the last of her water. Growing up on a desert planet had quickly taught her the importance of hydration. With the sun and the half desert, half forest environment of the mountains, Hayley had been drinking a lot more than usual, even more than her companions who had yet to learn just how much they should be taking in just to keep from passing out. The unfortunate result was that she was the only one who had finished their water, but she couldn’t take from anyone as they needed just as much as she did. Wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, she slouched in the minimal shade provided by some overhanging trees in a vain attempt to keep cool, tilting her head back against the rough bark and closing her eyes. Suddenly a cool hand pressed against the hot flesh of her neck, making her sigh as her eyes fluttered open to meet Spock’s. She startled slightly when she realized he was closer than she thought he’d be, his front nearly brushing against her side. With the hand not still pressed against her neck, he offered his canteen. She smiled weakly as her hand grasped it. Vulcans were more accustomed to going for long periods of time without any water, even in extreme heat. It’d probably be a few hours before Spock needed some water, and even then, if he pushed himself, he could go for longer. She took a long pull of water, relishing the refreshing slide of the liquid down her parched throat. She nodded a thank you to Spock as she handed the canteen back and turned to see the two Kirks returning from the small hike ahead.

“Everything alright?” Bones asked, still eyeing Winona with a hint of mistrust.

“Perfect,” Jim nodded, clapping his best friend on the shoulder and smiling slightly to show he truly was fine. Bones nodded in return. “The first cave is only a few minutes away and the way looks relatively clear. You get anything yet, Zooey?”

“A few blips. Nothing significant.”

He nodded before glancing at all his crew, checking their conditions. When he spotted the close proximity between his First Officer and Doctor, he grinned, “You okay there, Hayley?”

She nodded, choosing to ignore the barely concealed innuendo, “Fine. You might want to check on Mikaela though. I think she’s gonna pass out soon.”

Sure enough Mikaela was leaning heavily on Elba who was looking concerned at the Betazoid. Bones swore and hurried over to check on the woman as Jim walked over at a more sedate pace, though he too looked worried.

“She getting dehydrated,” Bones growled. “Haven’t you been drinking your water?”

“Some,” Mikaela shrugged tiredly, choosing to trade Elba’s shoulder for McCoy’s stronger ones. “Was concentrating on getting up the stupid mountain.”

“You don’t hike much do you?” Winona asked gently.

“I went when we were at the cabin for leave.”

“No you didn’t,” Hayley rolled her eyes. “You walked for five minutes before turning back to go swimming with Zooey and Vi.”

Mikaela blinked at her friend in bewilderment, “Right. No, I don’t hike.”

Sighing, Bones shook his head, “She can’t continue like this. I have to take her back to the ship, Jim.”

The Captain nodded, stepping forward to give Mikaela a gentle hug, “You and Elba walk back to the designated transporter area with her. We’ll call if we find anything.”

Hayley gave her friend a hug as well before Bones gently lifted her and began the trek back down the mountain, Elba following with both her and Mikaela’s packs. Jim sighed and waved the remaining crew forward.

As they moved closer to the cave, Zooey’s device began to make more and more beeps, causing everyone to tense. Clearly, they were headed in the right direction, and if that were true, then they were going to be coming up on the Romulans’ hideout soon. They paused around the corner from the entrance so that Zooey could turn off her locater and tuck it into her pack before everyone pulled out their phasers, keeping them set to stun, just as a precaution. Stealthily, Jim lead the way around the corner, eyes darting back and forth as Hayley followed close to his heels. She could feel Spock and the others practically breathing down her neck as she took the turn that was supposed to lead them to the opening of the cave. Brushing aside some vines, Jim stopped short and turned back to wave his mom to the front of the group. Hayley was close enough to hear their hushed conversation.

“It’s not here,” Jim hissed, glaring at the older woman.

She shook her head, “I don’t understand. It was here. I swear to you, it was right here.”

“Really? Because it looks like a blank rock wall to me.”

“I swear, Jim. Why don’t you believe me?”

“Do you really want to get into that right now?”

“Hey,” Hayley cut in, hoping to separate them before they were found. “Zooey’s machine was starting to go crazy a little while back. There has to be something close by. Let’s just look around before you two rip each other’s heads off, ‘kay?”

Jim shot another look at his mother before moving away. The rest spread out to hunt up some sign of life. Winona drifted closer to Hayley as she paused to take another sip of Spock’s water. The Vulcan had shoved the canteen at her the moment he could after Mikaela’s episode. She could tell he was worried about the same thing happening to her.

“Thank you,” Winona said quietly, glancing over at her son. “I don’t mean to argue with him, but it’s hard…”

“Probably would help if you hadn’t abandoned him when he was younger.”

The older woman’s eyes widened in shock.

“I’m sorry,” Hayley shook her head. Why had that come out in the first place? She didn’t want or need to pick a fight with Mrs. Kirk. The heat must have been getting to her more than she had thought. She took another sip of water before continuing, “That was out of line.”

They were silent for a small stretch as they watched the others work. “You don’t have children, do you?” Winona finally asked.

“No. I can hardly take care of myself, let alone a child. And before you say anything, that doesn’t mean I can’t understand why you’d do what you did. I don’t think anybody would be able to, no matter their situation. I’m sorry for what happened to you, losing the love of your life like that. But that’s no excuse to abandon your child, _his_ child. Jim still has trouble trusting people because of it.”

Winona’s jaw dropped open in shock as she struggled to come up with a rebuttal.

“But,” Hayley continued unperturbed. “He really does love you, and wants you to be a part of his life. You can see it whenever we talk about our families and he seems a little left out. Mikaela and I actually had a plan for when this was all over. She wanted to track you down and…well to put it in her words, ‘rip you a new one’. She used to date Jim, so you can imagine how well she knows him. He’s important to all of us though. We don’t like to see him hurt.”

A startled scream jerked them out of their conversation. Hayley rushed forward to where Jim was helping Zooey off the ground, Spock off to the side studying the new large hole in the side of the mountain where Zooey had previously been leaning.

“Fascinating,” he muttered. “It seems they’ve found a way to cloak the entrance to the cave.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Zooey huffed unhappily, dusting herself off.

“Alright everyone,” Jim said, inching into the dark space ahead of the rest, phaser held at the ready once more. “Follow me. Quietly.”

Zooey stuck her tongue out at the back of his head before following his lead, Spock and Hayley trailing after with Winona taking the rear. The cave was so dark they were forced to turn on the lights at the end of their phasers just to see five feet ahead. It appeared to be empty, the far off sound of water dripping the only noise in the hollow space besides their steady, even breaths. There was a fork at the back of the cave, two tunnels leading away to God knows what. Jim turned to wave Spock and Hayley down the right one while he, Zooey, and Winona took the left. Hayley nodded once before following the tall lithe figure of the Vulcan down the tunnel.

After what seemed an eternity in the winding pitch black passageway, the space finally opened up into something completely unexpected. The whole place was as sterile as a hospital or laboratory, metal tables scattered around the room with various equipment Hayley recognized with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Most of it was identical to what she used while searching for a vaccine to the gas. The other machines could easily be used to make the toxic air. This was undoubtedly the lab used to make the gas, and it appeared they had been looking for a way to protect themselves from it as well. A quick glance to her right told her Spock had come to the same conclusions.

A loud thud had them spinning to the left. It seemed they weren’t as alone as they thought. Five Romulans stood in the corner with shocked expressions. A pale, tall, long-limbed man with a mob of black hair lay at their feet, bound and gagged and clearly unconscious. Hayley couldn’t even begin to wonder what the man was doing there or what part he played in this disaster before the Romulans came to their senses and charged at her and Spock. Spock countered quickly, fighting off three Romulans as the other two came after her. She used her phaser to take down one before it was knocked out of her hands. She turned in time to duck a swing at her head, countering with a quick jab to the man’s gut. He grunted, eyes blazing as he kicked out, trying to sweep her legs out from under her. Luckily, she saw the move coming and was able to jump up letting the leg swing under her as she kicked out herself, both feet connecting with the Romulan’s chest and making him stumble back. She fell onto her back, rolling away to give herself some distance and a chance to catch her breath. Grunts, shuffling, smacks, and crashes came from the other side of the room where Spock was still fighting off his attackers. He was more than capable, but Hayley still wanted to get this over with quickly and maybe help him somewhat.

Pulling herself back to her own problems, she ducked quickly, dodging out of the way when her attacker decided to come at her again and again, not giving her time to throw any punches or kicks herself. She was forced to go on the defensive until she found another opening. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize she was being corralled closer and closer to an edge leading down into a black abyss until it was too late. She felt her feet slip a second before her attacker finally landed a punch. Her jaw exploded in pain as she flew backward. Her last thought as she landed on cold, hard, unforgiving ground was why in God’s name would they have a lab on the ledge of an underground cliff?


	23. Chapter 23

There were shouts from far off followed by a dull thud closer to her head that made her wince. Her head was throbbing painfully and her whole body seemed to ache anytime she so much as twitched, making her lie absolutely still. A large hand gently brushed against the back of her head, hitting a tender spot and making her whimper.

“Shh, _ashayam_ ,” a deep voice washed over her, calming her. “You are safe now.”

“Hurts,” she cried.

“I know,” he said simply. Firm slim arms slipped under her, causing her to cry out in alarm as she was suddenly lifted into the air and pressed against a familiar chest. Acting of their own accord, her arms wound their way around Spock’s neck as he began moving swiftly. Voices continued to call down to them, though Spock refused to answer, thankfully. She didn’t think her head could handle that right now. He moved gracefully, hardly ever jolting her, in an upward incline. She guessed he found some way out of the ditch she’d fallen into. Remembering how exactly she ended up down there had her wincing and burying her face into Spock’s neck, seeking some kind of comfort.

“The back of her head is beginning to swell,” Spock’s voice had a hint of worry as he gently lowered her to the ground, only to gather her into his lap a second later.

Another male voice cursed quietly, “Let me see.”

“Bones,” Hayley slurred slightly, forcing her eyes open as her confusion washed over her.

“It’s alright, Hayley,” he assured her, scanning her head with his tricorder.

“What…When…I don’t…”

“I called him back the second we found you at the bottom of a black hole,” Kirk’s anxious voice teased from nearby.

“Not a black hole,” she murmured, closing her eyes again when the dim light began to be too much.

“Then Spock got impatient while we were trying to figure out a way to get you out,” Jim continued, ignoring her statement. “And decided to just jump down to check on you.”

“How long…”

“You were out for about two hours,” Zooey said from somewhere above her head, her voice breaking as she sniffled. Hayley could only groan in response and shifted closer to Spock who immediately tightened his hold on her, nearly inaudible words of comfort vibrated in his chest against her. A sharp pain in her neck made her flinch before a fuzzy feeling enveloped her brain. She tilted her head back to look at Spock. Brown eyes stared down at her with concern as he lightly messaged the spot that had just been hypoed. She hummed at the relaxing sensation, her eyelids dropping as the drugs began to work through her system.

“Sleep, _ashayam,_ ” Spock whispered, the others’ voices a dull buzzing in the background. Tucking herself closer to Spock’s body, Hayley couldn’t help but comply.

* * *

A beeping noise from somewhere above her head and a large strong hand grasping her hand were the first things she became conscious of. Second was a soft murmur of stressed voices from her bedside. Her body felt numb, as though she were floating, though she could clearly feel a blanket tucked around her and a firm bed beneath her. The sharp sterile smell of Med-Bay stung her nose, rousing her mind completely.

Peeling her eyelids back, she blinked a couple times to clear her vision before Spock’s face hovering over her sharpened. A small smile twitched her lips upward as his eyes softened, the tight lines around them smoothing out.

“Oh thank Jesus!” Zooey’s loud exclamation had Hayley flinching. A second later the blonde was draped over her, hugging the breath out of her as Spock moved out of the way, though his hand stayed in hers.

The moment Hayley realized whose hand was clasped in hers, she froze. Vulcans were touch telepathic, their hands overly sensitive. Except in very private moments, they never held hands. Touching fingers was considered the equivalent of kissing in Vulcan society. Spock often set that aside for Hayley’s comfort, but never in such a public setting. Zooey, Vi, Mikaela, Elba, Daneel, Scotty, Bones, Jim, Sulu, and Chekov were all gathered around them, waiting for her to wake. She turned her head to look at Spock, seeing the tightness remaining around his eyes which refused to leave her face. Worry was unabashedly visible in every line of his body. How bad had she’d been for him to willingly show that much emotion? She squeezed his hand to reassure him, dimly aware of Jim peeling Zooey off her as the others greeted her briefly before Bones ushered all but Jim and Mikaela out of his Med-Bay.

“How long was I out?” her voice was raspy from disuse. Mikaela and Spock helped prop her up in bed and Jim poured her a glass of water from a pitcher on her bedside table.

“A day and a half,” McCoy’s gruff reply had her looking over to the frowning doctor. He was looking over the machines connected to her biobed, concern just barely visible in his hard blue eyes. Poor man probably had been harassed the entire time she’d been here.

Hayley brought her free hand up to rub at her temple, “What happened?”

Jim frowned as he passed her the water, “You don’t remember?”

“I remember getting knocked off that cliff and Spock getting me out,” she said after taking a sip of water and handing the glass back, her voice now clearer. She squeezed his hand again, “Thank you for that, by the way.”

Spock merely inclined his head, squeezing her hand back.

“After that…” she shrugged.

“You hit you head when you fell,” Bones explained, turning to run a tricorder over her while Mikaela looked over his shoulder. Jim had stepped back to give them room. “You had a severe concussion, among other things and your body passed out from the trauma. There was a chance you might not wake up.”

“Heard that one before,” she grinned up at him, making him huff a reluctant laugh.

“Yeah well, let’s not make it a pattern, alright?”

Hayley nodded as Bones meandered away to the bed next to hers. A long limbed, pale, dark haired man she vaguely remembered lay unconscious on the biobed. Stretching lightly, she twisted her head more to see his face better. He had high cheekbones, dark eyelashes gently brushing against them, and pale lips set in a hard line even in sleep. His eyes danced beneath his lids, as if he were dreaming.

“Who is he?” Hayley asked, confused.

“We don’t know,” Jim answered, moving to stand beside Bones. “There’s no trace of him anywhere. We found him in the lab. It looked like the Romulans were about to kill him when you and Spock showed up.”

Hayley nodded, a small flash of a memory running through her head at the information. She settled back in her bed, tugging on Spock’s hand to allow her to rest her hands on her stomach without letting go. She heard him hum in pleasure, leaning closer to rest his arms on her bed. Mikaela’s eyes darted between the two, clearly pleased with whatever she saw judging by the small smile on her lips.

“Well,” she said, standing up, “I’m gonna go make sure Daneel’s not making a nuisance of herself.”

Hayley rolled her eyes and waved as the doors whooshed open for her friend. Jim left soon after that, needing to return to the Bridge for Alpha shift. Spock sat quietly, playing with her fingers as she rested against her pillows. It was nice to just stay still for a little, to not have something to work for, to not have to rush to the next disaster, even if he was driving her crazy with confusion.

“So,” Hayley lazily said after a long moment of silence. Bones had drifted away to his office to work on some paperwork, leaving Spock to watch Hayley and a few nurses wandering around, checking on the few other patients currently in Medical. She wanted to ask him about the hand-holding-thing, but chickened out at the last second. “Any news on the people on Tartarus? Everyone recovering fine?”

A shadow crossed Spock’s expression before he could clear it, “Hayley.” He hesitated, wrapping her hand in both of his. “We were focused on returning you to the Enterprise.” He spoke in their own language, a sure sign that nothing good was coming. “We had not found out until after we arrived.”

“Found out what?” she asked quietly when he didn’t continue.

He watched her closely, eyes searching her face, “The Romulans escaped custody. In order to cover their tracks they killed Dr. Gray…as well as the entirety of the hospital patients they had infected as well as a few others that had gotten in the way. Only two employees were able to escape and report what had happened.”

Her heart stopped a split second before picking up in double time. Tears stung her eyes, making her blink rapidly. It was suddenly hard to catch her breath. “All of them?” she choked out.

“I am sorry, _ashayam_ ,” he whispered.

Hayley sucked in a deep breath. The shock of hearing that word, that term of endearment used only between mated T’hy’la on Vulcan, was enough to completely derail her grief. “What?” she managed to breath out.

Brown eyes darted around briefly, making sure they were relatively alone before he bowed his head over her hands, pressing his lips to her knuckles in a very human gesture, “I am sorry I did not act on it sooner.”

Hayley’s grin was watery, tears streaking down her face changing from grief filled, to joyful. Not once did she expect something like this to happen, especially not so suddenly. She expected a lot of logic filled discussions before she could get Spock to admit to his feelings, if they had been the same as hers. Instead, all it took was her to be fatally injured (again) and he cracked all on his own. Nothing else seemed to matter than the tall alien clinging to her hand.

She opened her mouth to answer, sure her emotions were already flooding him through their joined hands, when Bones chose that moment to return, “What in God’s name is going on? You’re heart monitor has been going insane! I swear hobgoblin, if you can’t keep her calm–”

“No!” Hayley quickly cut him off, startling the doctor. “I’m fine really. Don’t make him leave.”

McCoy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Fine. But you need to rest. I’m serious. One more blip out of the ordinary and he’s gone. And I’m giving you a sedative to help you sleep.”

Hayley readily nodded, not wanting to push her luck. She tightened her grip on Spock’s hand pulling him ever closer as Bones hypoed her neck. The effect was immediate, her eyes drooping as her body sagged into the mattress. She kept her eyes locked with Spock’s as long as she could, Bones muttering under his breath as she drifted back to sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

Except for when Jim had to practically drag him away for Alpha shift, Spock hadn’t left her side the whole time she was stuck in med-bay. It seemed the blow to her head had been more severe than Bones initially let on. She was stuck on bed rest for a good three weeks before she was allowed even to be removed to her own rooms. And even after that she wasn’t allowed to work, but she didn’t mind. There really wasn’t much for her to do. Bones was monitoring the mysterious man’s progress while the others tried to figure out what the Romulans’ plan was. It was all agreed that Tartarus had been a test run for something bigger but none of them could think of what the pale, dark haired man had to do with it.

While everyone was buzzing around the ship (which was ordered to stay floating beside Tartarus and help as much as possible with clean up and to await orders to deal with the Romulans) Spock was busy entertaining a bed ridden Hayley. At some point before she returned to her rooms, the Vulcan had moved a good portion of his own belongings in, claiming the captain had ordered him to look after her while they were busy. Somehow she doubted Jim had meant for him to move in with her, but she wasn’t complaining. It was nice to be able to disappear from all the craziness of Starfleet for a while with Spock and just relax. They hadn’t spent lazy days like that together since they were kids, though the circumstances were far from perfect (her head still throbbed occasionally).

There was one major improvement, in Hayley’s opinion. Spock and she were now emotionally bare to one another. The first night together in her room was spent simply talking, getting reacquainted with one another and discussing the feelings they had for one another, something they both had hidden for so long to save themselves from the pain of rejection, or worse, ruining their friendship. They hadn’t done much more than kissing though, even with everything out in the open. They didn’t want to rush things. Didn’t want to damage what they had. So their relationship was kept at a slow pace, with very few people knowing.

After a few weeks, however, Hayley was deemed well enough to move about again and Spock was forced to return to his usual schedule. Hayley went back to the med bay to assist Bones in any way she could while she was on light duty. A large part of what she did was keep an eye on their mysterious passenger and try to figure out who exactly he was. The first day she drew several vials of blood to run whatever tests McCoy had yet to try as well as a few she had come up with in the Academy. As she waited for the machines to slug through the tests, she carefully placed a droplet of blood on a glass slide and placed it under a microscope. 

Her brow furrowed as she stared into the eyepiece. Something just didn’t seem right. Hurrying over to the machines in the corner, she checked over the first few results, frowning in confusion. She tucked her PADD under her arm and headed out to the secluded room they had moved the man into, so as to keep him away from the other patients until they figured out whether or not he was a threat. As she expected, Bones was standing at the bedside, looking over the vitals, just as he did every day at this time.

“Bones,” she walked over to him, already pulling up the test results (now with the ones she had yet to see as well) as she went, “You need to see this.”

The doctor put aside his work to turn to Hayley, frowning as he looked over her PADD, “What is this?”

She huffed, “Good question. I took some of his blood and ran a few basic tests to find out what species he is, where he’s been, things like that. Since every planet has different elements in the air, even if their harmless, they leave a trace in the blood. But this guy’s clean. And I mean squeaky clean. Nothing. Not even what we’d find in people from Earth. And what’s more, I put a sample under the microscope. You should have seen it! His cells multiply faster than anything I’ve ever seen. It’s like he has some sort of super regenerative power no one’s ever heard of.” She took a deep breath, having rambled off the information at a break neck speed, all in one breath.

He raised an eyebrow, but continued frowning down at the PADD without comment.

“What do you think?” she asked.

He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face wearily, “I’m not sure. I’ll have to report this to Jim though. Anything else you can try to find out more about this regenerative thing?”

She nodded, “Yeah. There’s a couple of tests that should give us a better idea, but I’ll need a couple more vials of blood. I don’t have enough back in my lab.”

“You do that. I’ll be back in a minute with Jim.” He handed back her PADD and eyed her critically, “How are you feeling, by the way?”

She debated lying and saying she was fine, but Bones knew her well enough by now that he’d see right through that. “I’ve been better,” she shrugged. “A little tired, I guess, but I’ll feel better after I get something to eat. I’ll probably catch a nap after I finish up here, just in case.”

He nodded his approval, ruffling her hair playfully as he moved toward the door, “I’ll send Spock up with your lunch. I’m sure he won’t want to take my word for it when I tell him you’re fine.”

She smiled at his back before sighing and turning back to her work. The man was still lying on his back, appearing peaceful in his unconsciousness. His eyes weren’t moving anymore, but his breathing was even and deep as though he was sleeping nonetheless. Gently as she could, she turned his pale arm until it faced up and slid the long sleeve uniform black thermal the men of Starfleet wore beneath their shirts. She tied a tourniquet above his elbow, below the bunched up sleeve, and turned away to gather her supplies. 

A quiet, barely there rustle behind her had her freezing. She stood perfectly still, ears straining to pick up the littlest sound. When none came she rolled her shoulders to ease her tension and rubbed her eyes. She should hurry to finish this and go take that nap. She wasn’t at her best yet and didn’t want to push it with a head injury. Anything other than that and she would have brushed it off and pushed through, but head injuries scared her. Even in this day and age with advanced technology that could heal just about anything, head injuries were the one thing a patient was never sure to survive. 

Sighing she turned back to her immobile patient and took hold of his arm with her left hand, her thumb running gently over the thin skin at his elbow as she searched for the right vein. A muscle twitched under her fingers. Not surprising. Unconscious patients often had muscle spasms from not moving often enough. Not to mention the stimulants McCoy was feeding him to keep him from losing muscle mass.

She flicked an acceptable vein a couple times for good measure before pressing the needle into his skin. She couldn’t hold back the yelp of surprise and a little pain as a strong hand snapped around her wrist, restraining her from continuing. Her eyes flicked up to the man’s face to find cold flat grey eyes staring back at her.


	25. Chapter 25

Hayley jerked back, instinctively trying to pull away from the man now latched onto her arm. He shot up into a seated position as though he hadn’t been unconscious for the past few weeks. Acting on auto pilot, she threw her free arm forward in an attempt to break his nose, but he easily blocked that, grabbing her fist in his other hand so that her arms were crossed awkwardly and she had no way of escaping. He slid off the table, gray eyes studying her as she kicked out as a last ditch attempt for freedom. She wasn’t at her best right now and logically knew she couldn’t get away without help.

In one movement so swift she hadn’t even realized what was happening, he pinned her against his now vacated bed, both arms trapped painfully behind her. Her shoulders screamed in protest at the uncomfortable position. She grunted as he put more weight on her, keeping her from struggling.

“Let me go,” she growled before she could stop herself.

“Why do you want my blood?” his voice was so deep and low it rumbled through her back where he was pressed. His breath stirred her loose hair as he turned slightly to look around. “Where am I?”

She licked her lips, deciding to be as honest as possible until he gave her a reason not to. Besides, she had a feeling he wouldn’t take her lying very well. “The Starship Enterprise. We found you while looking for the Romulans who killed some of our people. Do you work for them?”

He chuckled humorlessly, “They held my crew and I hostage, forced me to do their bidding, and then proceeded to kill my crew to test their gas.”

She sucked in a breath in shock, both at his words and the tightened grasp around her wrists. If he wasn’t careful he might break her hand. She kept talking, hoping to calm him down enough to let her go, “They killed my crew with that gas. Killed an entire hospital. I’ve been working with the gas to make an antidote so we can stop them. I was taking your blood just to figure out who you were. How you were a part of this.”

There was a beat of silence as he digested that before he roughly pushed her away. She sagged against the bed, ignoring the prickling feeling at her neck as he watched her. When she had regained some of her composure, she turned to face him, idly rubbing her sore wrist. She was definitely going to have bruises. Spock wouldn’t be happy about that. Neither would Bones or Jim or any of the crew for that matter. They could be ridiculously protective most of the time, especially after she had her head injury.

He studied her for a good long while, dissecting her every twitch, “You’re a scientist.” It wasn’t a question but she nodded anyway. “You shouldn’t flick the vein. It compromises the blood sample.”

She huffed, “Maybe a couple hundred years ago, but now I needed it to be ‘compromised’ to get a certain reading.”

He tilted his head in curiosity, “It seems a lot has changed since I was put under. The Romulans didn’t share very much.”

Her brow furrowed, “What are you talking about?”

“My name is Khan Singh. I am from the twentieth century. I was put under stasis along with my crew for hundreds of years until the Romulans woke us from our sleep. They somehow knew who I was, knew I had been a biologist in my time, a biologist _ahead_ of my time. They took my crew as hostages so that I would do whatever they wished. I was forced to make that gas for them. I watched as they planned around me, not knowing how quickly I was able to piece together their language and figure out exactly what they were going to do. Though, I never did find out the plan for my crew until it was too late.” He turned away, hunching in on himself as though in pain. Hayley stopped herself from reaching out, realizing he needed to get all of this out before he could heal. “They were used as the first test subjects. I had to watch my crew, my family, suffocate in their sleep. And I had no way to stop them. When I tried to fight they merely knocked me out, dragged me to a new location on the planet where you found me.”

She closed her eyes and shuddered. She had thought she had lost a lot thanks to that gas. But she hadn’t. She had managed to save her friends, even if she lost the rest of the crew on the Titan. Now she was safe on a new ship that felt more like home than the Titan had and a new family. Hell, she even had Spock, something she never thought she’d get in her wildest dreams. Her heart went out to Khan, even if he had hurt her, but she couldn’t think of a way to help him. So she stayed silent, waiting for him to decide where to take the conversation next.

He finally turned back to her, his eyes suddenly sharp and searching, “You said they killed your crew, that you were making an antidote.”

It was her turn to study the man in front of her. She still didn’t know if she could trust him. Clearly he was emotionally compromised. Was that enough for him to turn on her and the rest of the Enterprise if circumstances go against whatever he had planned? Could she trust him with all this information? Most of it was simply about the past, what they had done thus far and things like that. She didn’t need to tell him anything critical to how they were looking for the Romulans.

“I made an antidote while on the Starship Titan. We were studying the gas that had ravaged an asteroid. I wanted to get an antidote done as quickly as possible. Especially after a few of my friends and I found that what we had thought was a Vulcan scientist working with us was actually Romulan and sending encrypted messages out to some unknown party. I started sending out my own messages to a friend of mine in a language we made up as children. Luckily he was working on this Starship and was able to get them fairly quickly. Unfortunately before the Enterprise could come and help, we were caught. The Romulan destroyed the asteroid in an attempt to hide the evidence and, during a fight, the gas was unleashed onto the ship. I had enough antidote for myself and my three friends. We were the only survivors.”

She paused to take a breath and allow him time to come to terms with that information. He was blinking at her with a sort of thunderstruck expression. She raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry and he shook his head.

“I apologize for hurting you. It seems you’ve lost just as much as I have.”

She waved away the apology, “I’d hardly say that. Plus I’ve gained much more. The Enterprise came and found us. They took care of us while we recovered and we were able to join some old friends of ours. We’re much more comfortable here. We were ordered to relax and recuperate until word of the attacks on Tartarus got around. The similarities were too much to ignore and we came out immediately. By the time we arrived I already had the preventive vaccine all sorted out as well. We went down and administered all the antidotes to those who needed and went in search of the Romulans. That was how we found you of course. We fought them. I got knocked out.” She rubbed the back of her head with a grimace. “And we all came back here. That’s about it.”

He nodded, “Thank you for sharing all that with me. Most wouldn’t trust a stranger so easily.”

Hayley watched carefully as he stepped closer, “I figured you had a right to know. But the Captain will want to know exactly what it is you plan on doing.”

“Excuse me?” his voice dropped threateningly.

She straightened from her slumped position against the biobed, “I’m sorry for what happened to you, but we can’t allow you to run off on your own, looking for revenge. People could get hurt. And we’ll need to know what you know about the Romulans’ plans.”

“What makes you think I know anything?” He stepped into her personal space, growling low under his breath.

“You said you learned their language. Figured out their plans. You may not have had time to save your crew, but whatever you know could help us save so many other lives.”

He glared down at her, making her feel even smaller than she already was. He had seemed lean from a distance, but up close she could see all his muscles rippling under his shirt, the sheer bulk of them making her want to cower. She stayed standing, however, not allowing her eyes to flicker from his.

“I would have thought,” he began slowly, his voice still dangerously low. “That someone who had been through what you had would understand.”

“I do.” She nodded minutely. “But I don’t think you can take them on on your own. And you know that. We have no intention of letting this go. The Romulans will pay the price for what they have done. Help us. After that, what you do is up to you.”

He stepped back, still staring at her searchingly, “It seems I have underestimated you.” Hayley had a feeling she hadn’t been meant to hear that. “I’ll speak to your Captain.”

She exhaled slowly, not realizing she had been holding her breath, “Thank you.”

A crash coming from the doorway had her spinning around. Spock stood on the threshold, a tray of food at his feet. His face was neutral but his eyes blazed. He must have seen at least some of that. Had seen how Khan had tried to intimidate her. Or maybe it had looked different to him. In her head she went over exactly how close he had stood, how she hadn’t backed down, and how it may have looked from another angle. Eyes wide, she rushed to Spock’s side. Grabbing his hand before he had a chance to protest, she sent him everything she was feeling through the connection of their skin. His other hand rose to grip her waist, gently moving her behind him.

“Spock, this is Khan. Khan, this is Spock,” she squeezed her T’hy’la’s hand with both of hers to show exactly who Spock was to her. Khan tilted his head in understanding. “Spock is the First Officer,” she included for good measure. “Spock,” she tugged on his hand so that he turned from glowering at the man. “Khan was explaining to me earlier how the Romulans had forced him to make the gas under threat of killing his crew. They ended up killing them anyway, but he’s agreed to help us. We should get Jim so they can talk.”

He looked at her, his eyes uncharacteristically hard, “What has happened to your wrists?”

She flinched. She had hoped he wouldn’t notice that until later. Her eyes flickered to Khan unwillingly and before she could even open her mouth Spock was across the room, Khan at his feet as he pulverized the man’s face. Hayley stayed where she was. Experience told her that Spock always acted irrationally when she was injured. More than once in their childhood he’d gotten into fights because some bully had picked on her. Getting in the middle would just make things worse, and she’d possibly get hurt in the process. Instead, she gave the fighting pair a wide berth as she went into her office to her communicator, calling for Jim and Bones to come immediately as well as a few security officers. Hopefully that’d be enough to pull the furious Vulcan off their new passenger.


	26. Chapter 26

Hayley sat cross-legged on top of her bed while Spock laid out across it, his head pillowed by her lap. It had taken some time, but Bones and Jim had eventually gotten Spock to stop trying to kill Khan. Not that they were trying very hard. Once they saw the bruises forming on her wrists, they were hard pressed to not join the Vulcan instead. But she’d talked them into helping her.

Jim had taken Khan aside and talked to him about what the man knew and probably warned him not to touch her ever again. He was protective like that. Meanwhile, Bones had sat her down on a biobed and patched up her wrists. The bruises were already yellowing, and while her left wrist had been sprained, it no longer throbbed in pain so she was comfortable. Spock had hovered close to her the whole time, blocking her view of Khan and Jim. The moment Bones gave the all clear, the Vulcan had swooped in and ushered her back to their room. It was annoying and endearing and she really had no clue how to feel about it. 

A light touch on her sore wrist brought her out of her head. Focusing back on the Vulcan, she realized her hands had tangled in his hair, fingers playing with the silky black strands while she was lost in thought. A content expression had fallen over his face as he drowsed, making her smile. His fingers curled around her wrist, bringing it down to his mouth so he could press his lips to the healing injury in a very human gesture.

“How are you feeling?” his voice was low, husky, on the very edge of sleep.

“I’m fine, Spock. Really. No need to worry about me.”

“I always worry,” his eyes slid shut and she chuckled quietly, running her hands through his hair some more as her T’hy’la drifted into unconsciousness. He was just too sweet, and he didn’t even realize it. 

Her PADD pinged at her, alerting her to an incoming call. Gently, she lifted Spock’s head off her legs and settled him on a pillow before walking to her desk and digging her PADD out from under a few loose papers. She smiled when she saw who was trying to contact her, accepting the call readily.

“Hi, mom,” she greeted.

“Hayley,” Amanda Grayson, Spock’s mother, smiled back at her. She looked the same as ever, though more lines around her eyes and mouth exposed her true age. She still wore the same hood over her dark hair and her brown eyes were still soft and kind when looking at one of her children. “How are you?”

“Alright,” she hesitated telling her godmother what had happened earlier. She may not be a Vulcan, but she could be just as scary when one of her children were hurt. “There was a bit of an accident earlier, but I’m fine.”

“What happened?” she asked, knowing her daughter wasn’t going to elaborate.

“It’s just a few bruises,” Hayley said instead.

“Hayley Amanda Spencer,” the older woman warned. “What. Happened?”

She sighed, “You know how I told you about that guy we found on Tartarus?”

“The one you found when you fell and injured your head?” Of course she’d remember the injury and nothing else. “Yes, I remember.”

“He woke up and was startled. I think he thought I was working with the people who took him or something.” She really couldn’t go into the details over an insecure line. “Anyway, he grabbed my wrist a little too hard is all. Once he calmed down and I explained everything he apologized. He really didn’t mean to.”

Amanda sighed, “I’m sure Spock didn’t handle that well.”

“There may have been blows exchanged.”

She chuckled, “Where is my darling son?”

“Sleeping,” she smiled. “It’s been a long day.”

Amanda’s eyes drifted to somewhere beyond the screen and Hayley heard a familiar deep voice, though she couldn’t make out the words.

“Hayley, Sarek would like to speak with you,” her godmother said before moving off screen. 

Hayley shifted slightly, straightening in her chair and moving her hands to her lap, instead having the PADD propped up on a stand. Even if Sarek was fully Vulcan and therefore more in control of his emotions, he still could overreact when she or Spock were in some sort of danger. Her especially. She had always been the youngest, the smallest, the weakest of his children. Even if she wasn’t technically his, she was in his care and his responsibility. It was always an insult to him when she came home with cut lips and bruised knuckles. He took it as an attack on himself as much as an attack on her and would go a bit of a rampage. Well, the Vulcan equivalent to one anyway. Many adults lost very respectable jobs because they “couldn’t keep their children in order”, while she was always almost immediately forgiven for her temper. She was only human, after all.

She had hoped when she moved back to Earth for school, that would change, but it hadn’t. If anything it only got worse. Her parents had died shortly after she moved, and as she was still technically a minor, her godparents got full guardianship of her, even from light-years away. Sarek took that very seriously. Whenever she phoned home with even the smallest injury visible or grievance to report, even if it was her own fault, her godfather found someone else to blame and they paid, whether in students failing classes or teachers taking professional losses. It was nice that he looked out for her, but difficult to keep friends with a powerful Vulcan always lurking behind every corner. She learned to live with it. But that didn’t mean she had to give him fuel for the fire.

The Vulcan Ambassador sat down in his wife’s vacated seat and turned his sharp gaze to his goddaughter. Hayley could see him cataloging every slight flaw on her face, finding anything to complain about or give reason for her to return permanently to Vulcan. That was another thing he always did. When her parents died, he had vowed to look after her wellbeing, something he felt he could do better if she were on Vulcan with him. She had, of course, refused. Not because she didn’t want to return, but because she wanted a life outside of the sheltered one Sarek would have stuck her in. She loved the Vulcan like a father, but he could be very stifling when he put his mind to it.

“Hello, Sarek,” Hayley greeted with a small smile. Anything more would seem too much to Vulcans, even ones used to her human tendencies.

“Hayley,” he nodded slightly, pleased with whatever he’d found in her face. “Are you well?”

“Very.”

“And Spock?”

“Even better.”

He hummed in approval, “How is your injury faring?”

Her hand twitched, wanting to rub the back of her head, but she kept it in her lap, not wanting to reveal her newest bruises. It wouldn’t be a problem if she were wearing her uniform with the long sleeves, but she had changed into a t-shirt and sleep shorts upon entering her bedroom. She was sure when they finished talking Amanda would rat her out. For now she could keep it hidden, though. “Healing quite well. Doesn’t even hurt any longer.”

He nodded and opened his mouth to say more, probably some roundabout way of ordering her back to Vulcan. She wouldn’t find out however, as at that moment the red alert sounded, jolting Spock back into awareness. The Vulcan whipped his head around until he spotted Hayley at the desk. He visible relaxed, standing to get ready for whatever was happening.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly to the Vulcan still watching on her PADD. “There’s some sort of emergency. I have to go. I promise to call you both later.” She turned off the screen before they had time to answer and ran to her discarded uniform.

Within ten minutes she and Spock were rushing down the corridor, she attempting to battle her frizzy hair into a ponytail while the Vulcan led her blindly with a hand on the small of her back. People moved out of the way when they saw them coming, knowing full well they were part of the Command Crew (well, Spock was) and were needed on the bridge immediately.

Hayley sighed as they stepped onto the turbolift. She was sure she’d be more help in Med Bay, but the bridge was the fastest way to find out what the heck was going on. Bones would undoubtedly be there and could tell her what he needed her to do. She idly wondered where they would place Khan for whatever sort of emergency was taking place. The lift came to a stop, the door swooshing open. Spock swiftly swept out into the chaos that was once the bridge.


	27. Chapter 27

People were rushing around, obviously flustered over something. Jim was standing between Sulu and Chekov, Spock now a few feet behind him, within hearing range. A quick glance told her that Bones had yet to make it up, so she trotted down to the four men, knowing they would be the best bet on knowing what was happening.

Jim glanced up as she approached, “Hayley! Good! I need you to go to down to the transporter room. You and Bones are my landing party.”

“Landing party?” Her eyebrows shot up, “What’s happened?”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, “There was a Romulan attack on a small science-based ship. We were just in the right place at the right time. For some reason the Romulans fled, leaving the other ship just floating there.” He gestured to the large expanse of space in front to them where Hayley could make out a small ship floating aimlessly amongst the black. “We haven’t been able to contact anyone onboard. I need you and Bones to go and see if there are any survivors.”

“And the Romulans?” she asked lightly, “Are they the same ones who attacked Tartarus?”

“We’re not sure,” Sulu answered, swiveling around in his chair to look up at her. “It could just be a random attack, or an attack from different Romulans who are working alongside the ones who attacked us. There’s really no way to know until we see who’s on that ship.”

Hayley nodded in understanding, her mind going over everything she’d need to look out for while on the other ship. There were too many variables to know for sure, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared. She needed to see Bones before they left.

“We have confirmed the ship’s origin, Captain,” a hesitant voice called behind them. They turned to look at Zooey’s wide eyes as she chewed her lip.

“What is it?” Kirk urged.

Zooey’s eyes flickered to where Spock had come up behind Hayley, “It’s…” she sighed. “It’s Vulcan, sir.”

Hayley inhaled sharply as Spock tensed, turning to the Captain, “Under the circumstances I would like to request my presence in the landing party, Captain.”

Jim blinked, still processing what he’d heard, “Granted.” He paused a moment in thought, “And take Elba with you as well. Just in case.”

The two Vulcans nodded and hurried to the turbolift. Hayley bounced from foot to foot, willing the lift to move faster. A strong hand on her shoulder made her freeze, large brown eyes turning up to the man beside her. His expression was understanding but determined. Whoever was on that ship, if they were still alive, they were going to save them. No more lives were going to be lost because of the Romulans.

Spock’s hand tightened on her shoulder briefly before it skimmed down her bare arm to her hand, two of his fingers pressing against hers in a Vulcan kiss. She smiled sweetly at him and leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder for the rest of the turbolift ride.

They grabbed Elba on the way to the transporter room where Bones stood with his arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently. “About time,” he grumbled, stomping onto the teleportation pad in the middle of the room with a scowl.

Hayley rolled her eyes at the doctor, “We got here as soon as we could.”

His eyes narrowed. He really must have been in a foul mood today. She should ask Mikaela about fixing that.

“What’s the hobgoblin doing?”

“He’s coming along,” she explained, taking her medic pack from the floor and joining him on the pad as Spock and Elba holstered their weapons. “Turns out that ship is Vulcan, so the Captain is letting both of us handle it.”

The angry lines in his face smoothed out as his eyes softened. He gave a curt nod and continued grumbling under his breath for appearance’s sake. Hayley shared an amused look with Spock as the Vulcan nodded to the transporter controller.

“Energize,” he ordered.

Hayley always hated the transporter. It was the most common way to move from place to place in space and she’d gotten used to it over the years, but she never grew fond of it. The feeling of her atoms separating and being pieced back together could never be a pleasant sensation. Still, she went through it, rolling her shoulders to shake off the last of the odd pulsing tingles that ran through her body as she stepped off a disused teleport pad. The new room was silent. Not even the whir of machinery could be heard. The whole ship was shut down. A small whimper behind her had Hayley turning to Elba. The Sangian’s yellow eyes were wide with fright and Hayley cursed herself. How could she have forgotten how she’d found the younger woman? Reaching back, she squeezed Elba’s hand reassuringly before leading her after the men.

The long winding halls, blindingly white walls, and gray floor almost reminded her of certain sections of the Titan, but she refused to acknowledge those memories. She really needed to concentrate on the here and now. They carefully and quietly made their way to the bridge. Hayley froze on the threshold, half a step behind Spock, Elba’s hand still grasped in hers. What lay beyond was sure to give her nightmares for weeks to come. Her feet moved of their own accord, bringing her further into the room where bodies of at least a dozen Vulcans lay spread-eagle on the ground. She wouldn’t have known what had caused them to seemingly pass out if it weren’t for the slight sweetness in the air that clung to the inside of her nostrils and coated her tongue.

“The gas,” she gasped, glad that they all had already been vaccinated. “Look for survivors, quickly.”

She tossed each one a handful of antidotes from her bag before dropping to the ground by the nearest Vulcan. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she noted she didn’t recognize the young man in front of her. Especially when her fingers failed to locate a pulse. She moved on, forcing herself to stay as detached and indifferent as possible. It was hard not to see the many Vulcans she grew up with and the few she loved as the victims in front of her, but she had to focus. The sounds of the others moving about drifted over to her as her hope fell more and more with each dead body she stumbled across. She feared they were too late.

“Here’s one,” Bones voice broke through the building tension followed by a similar call from Spock a half second after. Hayley exhaled slowly. Finally, some good news.

Not a moment later her heart stopped and her breathing hitched, “No.”

“Hayley?” Spock’s usually calm voice had an edge of concern in it.

“No!” she fell to the ground once more, bruising her knees in the process. “Not him!” she cried.

Her fingers shook as they pressed to the side of the Vulcan male’s neck, refusing to give up. When that failed her, she dropped down further, pressing her ear to the man’s side in hope to find even the faintest thump. A wordless cry escaped when she found it and she scrambled for one of the antidotes scattered beside her. By this time Spock had managed to make his way over to her, only to freeze in shock. Hayley could feel him behind her, fear coming off him in waves as she stuck the Vulcan with an antidote.

“Come on, Sybok,” she murmured, brushing a hand through his hair soothingly like their mothers used to do when they were ill as children. “Come on, big brother. Come back to us.”

* * *

Hayley sat curled in a chair by the biobed. Her main focus was on the body in front of her, even as her brain cataloged the presence of others around the Med Bay. The three other survivors they found being cared for by nurses, though none of them had woken yet. Spock and Bones talking quietly in the corner with Jim. Wynona fluttering around, trying to help in any way she could. She hadn’t quite found her place on the Enterprise since joining them after Tartarus, but she tried. Khan was there too, standing near the Captain but not contributing to the conversation. She could feel his eyes on her, curious and probing. Spock had asked her not to be around him without a chaperone, though of course he hadn’t put it that way. Normally she would have fought it, but something about the man had her on edge. She just chalked that up to him nearly breaking her arm.

A nudge on her shoulder had her looking up at Mikaela with a small smile, “Hey.”

“Hey,” the Betazoid smiled back. “Move over.”

The chair wasn’t really built for two but Hayley couldn’t deny some company would be nice. She shuffled to one side, swinging her legs over the arm to make a little more room. Mikaela eased into the new space awkwardly and wrapped an arm around the other woman’s shoulders in comfort.

“He’ll be alright,” Mikaela whispered, squeezing her friend gently.

Hayley let out a slow breath she hadn’t known she was holding, her head dropping to the other’s shoulder in exhaustion, “He better be.”

They paused as they listened to the steady beep of the machines connected to Sybok’s bed. Hayley could almost feel herself drifting into a sleep-like state now that Mikaela was there to keep watch with her. Wynona came over for a moment, checking if they needed anything before going off to help a nurse with something.

Mikaela sighed, “Well, at least she’s trying.”

Hayley chuckled but didn’t answer.

“So,” she began slowly, thinking carefully over her words. “You said he’s your brother…”

Hayley nodded, straightening somewhat within her awkward position so she can see her friend better while still keeping one eye on Sybok. “Technically he’s Spock’s older half-brother. They have the same father, but different mothers. Sybok’s actually full blooded Vulcan.” She laughed lightly and shook her head, “It’s kinda funny though. Growing up, Sybok was always much more in tune with emotions. He never saw them as something to suppress like the other Vulcans do. Having me around probably didn’t help.”

“So Spock the half-human treats emotions like most Vulcans while Sybok the full-Vulcan treats them more like humans do?” Mikaela chuckled. “Yeah, that is kinda funny.” She eyed the unconscious Vulcan for a moment, “What about his mother? What ever happened to her?”

Hayley shrugged, “Don’t know. It didn’t seem polite to ask and Sarek never really liked talking about stuff like that.”

“Do they all name their kids with the same first initial or something?”

“Huh?”

“Sarek, Sybok, Spock…”

Hayley blinked, “Huh. I never noticed that.”

Mikaela laughed, “So when you and Spock have kids…”

“Not talking about that.”

The half-Betazoid continued to laugh as the Spock came over, followed by the others.

“What’s so funny?” Jim asked with a grin.

Mikaela nearly falls over in her renewed laughter as Hayley shakes her head, “Don’t ask. Anything new, Bones?”

The doctor shakes his head while studying the machines, “Same. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It was a close thing when you gave him that antidote. His body needs time to heal. Don’t expect him to so much as stir before those three wake up.”

Hayley nodded in understanding as Mikaela stood, ushering the three human males out the door to lunch while promising to bring something back for the two standing vigil over their sibling. Spock wrapped a hand around her wrist urging Hayley to stand so that he could sit, pulling her down into his lap. It was strange considering there were still people bustling about, but he seemed perfectly comfortable allowing her to cuddle against his chest while the nurses and Wynona continued to work.


	28. Chapter 28

Hayley was put as the lead doctor in charge of the Vulcan survivors, unsurprisingly. However, that didn’t stop her friends from being worried about her. They’d taken to forming shifts, one person would sit with her for a few hours only to be replaced by another. At the moment she was sitting on the couch, a stack of medical files about her newly acquired patients beside her and Daneel stretched out with her head cushioned on Hayley’s lap. Her free hand had drifted down to run through the younger girl’s hair while she read up on Sybok’s medical history. She could easily admit that the presence of her friend was extremely comforting while Sybok continued to remain unconscious.

Khan was stationed on the other side of the Bay. He had offered to help monitor the patients with me, though Spock and Bones (and pretty much every other overprotective being on the ship) hadn’t been happy about it. But he was familiar with the gas as well as being an amazing biologist, so Hayley didn’t mind as long as he stayed on his side of the room. He still gave her the heebie jeebies.

The main doors swished open and Hayley glanced up, expecting to see whoever had been scheduled to relieve Daneel who had by that time fallen asleep. Instead, she was greeted by a self-conscious smile in a pretty face. Nova Austen, someone Hayley had admittedly completely forgot even existed what with everything that had been going on, shifted from foot to foot nervously in front of her. She seemed almost embarrassed to be there.

Hayley straightened her shoulders, deciding to be professional about whatever it was the other woman had come to her about. She closed the file in her hand and tossed it on the pile stacked at her elbow before turning to who she had once considered a possible rival. It seemed ridiculous now, but love had a way of doing that to you, she supposed. And now she was starting to sound like Mikaela in her own head. Great.

“Miss Austen,” she greeted with a small smile. “What can I do for you?”

Nova shifted her weight to her right foot and sighed, “I, uh…I wanted to…apologize.”

“Stop,” Hayley waved her hand. “Don’t. Whatever it is you feel you need to apologize for, it’s not necessary.”

“But…”

“No. Really. I have nothing against you Nova. I hardly know you at all, actually. There is no reason you should be apologizing to me right now.”

Nova chewed on her lip, staring at the other woman for a long moment before nodding quickly, “Ok. Well then, I also wanted to offer you any help down here. I’m just a science officer, my main focus being chemistry, but I know a bit about biology. Whatever you need, I’d be happy to help.”

Hayley tilted her head to the side in thought, her eyes drifting to the side when she caught sight of Khan. The man had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he read through her more basic notes about the antidote but his eyes kept flicking up to leer at the young woman in front of Hayley. But there was also something else. A spark of recognition in the blue pools that seemed to confuse the man.

“Actually,” she came to a decision out loud. “I don’t really need any help at the moment. However, Khan,” she called louder, drawing his attention. “Is working on making more antidotes and vaccines. Just in case. I’m sure he could use the help of a good chemist.”

Nova turned to look at the man behind her, a light blush tinting her cheeks. Hayley hid a grin behind her hand when the man straitened, shooting her a grateful look as the chemist joined him at the table. She snickered as she went back to her files. At least now she wouldn’t have to worry about Khan looking at her wrong and setting off Spock again.

A moment later she was interrupted by the doors swishing open again, this time allowing Sulu to enter. He grinned when he spotted Daneel who had begun to snore quietly.

“Don’t wake her up,” Hayley ordered. “She’s extremely grouchy when you wake her up. Followed by heavy amounts of ADHD.”

The Asian chuckled, “I remember from the cabin.”

She smiled, “Oh yeah. You mind carrying her back to her room?”

“I’m supposed to sit with you.”

She rolled her eyes, “I’ll be fine by myself for a few minutes. Besides, Nova’s decided to come help out a bit, so I’m not technically alone.”

Sulu glanced over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow when he spotted an obviously flirting Nova with a highly amused Khan, “I doubt Spock would appreciate you being alone with those two. Besides, didn’t you beat her up at one point?”

“I did not beat her up,” Hayley growled. “Just take Daneel. I’m fine, I swear.”

He raised his hands in a placating gesture and scooped up Daneel, leaving without another word. She sighed as she watched them go, rubbing a hand across her face to wake her up a bit. She couldn’t remember the last time she took a catnap and could probably take one now. Stretching, she rose to her feet to check on Sybok and the others one last time before heading back to her and Spock’s quarters (it wasn’t official, but everyone knew they shared quarters now) for a well-deserved nap. Normally she wouldn’t dare leave the Med Bay, but she doubted she’d get much sleep with Nova giggling away the way she was.

“This ship is insane,” she told Sybok when she reached his side, shaking her head at Nova as she rested a hand on Khan’s forearm. She moved to the monitor above the bed, checking the vital readings. “I hope you know that. The people here are all certifiably crazy. I don’t have proof, but I swear it’s true. I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”

“Yes…you…would.”

Hayley’s eyes snapped down to the owner of the strangled voice. Sybok was blinking lazily up at her, a wry smile curling up his lips. She felt numb, her jaw hanging somewhere around her knees as she stared back at him wide-eyed. A hand grasping her wrist gently had her snapping back into action. Her hands snapped up so she could press her fingers to his pulse point despite the huge machines telling her his heart was beating steady and strong while the other laid on his chest, feeling his breath enter and leave his lungs easily. She quickly grabbed a small flashlight from her pocket and shined it into his eyes, checking his pupils’ dilation.

“Oh my God,” she whispered when everything checked out.

“ _Fokima_ ,” he whispered back in greeting. “It is good to see you again.”

“Oh my God!” he voice rose as a smile broke across her face. Her head snapped up to the two frozen scientist in the room, “Get Spock! And Kirk! Now!”


	29. Chapter 29

“Go fish,” his voice was far too amused for this game.

Hayley shook her head fondly and picked up another card from the decked stacked in between her and Sybok on his biobed. Since he had woken a few days ago, she had been hard pressed to leave his side. It was even worse than when he was unconscious. Not because he was in any danger, but because she forgot how much she enjoyed his company. Even as a child she had favored Spock, but Sybok would always be the perfect older brother to her. He was protective, but not stifling. He understood the merit in emotions unlike most other Vulcans and encouraged her to stay connected to her human tendencies without commenting when she acted a little too Vulcan. And he had been the first to see the special bon that had formed between her and Spock. Sybok had always teased them, saying it was only a matter of time before they got together and announced an engagement. Now he was more than a little smug about the new relationship, much to the crew’s amusement.

The doors swished open, causing Hayley to glance up from her cards. Spock nodded to a nurse who was leaving as he was entering before making a beeline for her and his brother.

“Spock,” Sybok greeted with a small smile. “Care to join us?”

“No thank you, Sybok.” His traveled over Hayley momentarily, making her blush with the reigned in intensity hidden in the brown depths. They really hadn’t been spending enough time alone together lately. Sybok chuckled, drawing them back to reality. Spock glanced over to the other Vulcans who were quietly talking together in the corner. They had woken shortly after Sybok and were recovering well. “How are the others recuperating?”

“Well,” Hayley answered, flashing a quick smile as she paired off a couple twos. “They’ll be able to talk to Jim about what happened today.”

“That’s good,” a bright voice interrupted as the Captain appeared at Spock’s side, clapping him on the shoulder with a smirk. “Hopefully we can figure out what to do about those Romulans. Any bit of information helps.”

“And I have received a request from our father for the three of us to call him and Mother,” Spock informed them, bringing up the PADD he had brought with him. “Would now be acceptable?”

Sybok nodded and motioned for Hayley to move up from the end of the bed so that she was sitting beside him against the pillows. Spock handed her the PADD and nudged her until she made enough space for him to squeeze in beside her.

She huffed, “Why am I always the one stuck in the middle?”

“You are the youngest,” Spock stated calmly as he sent out a call to Vulcan.

“And the female,” Sybok joined.

“And human,” Spock nodded slightly in agreement.

“Shall we continue?” Sybok chuckled when Hayley stuck her tongue out at him.

“None of that is fair, nor logical. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself so you don’t have to form any sort of protective barrier. And that female comment was just plain sexist.”

“Are my sons becoming overbearing again, Hayley?” Amanda joked, suddenly appearing on screen. She must have overheard at least part of their usual bickering.

“Mother,” Spock greeted her, completely unfazed. “Sybok is Father’s child from a previous marriage, therefore he is not your son.”

Amanda heaved a giant sigh, looking thoroughly amused, “Yes, Spock. I’m aware. That doesn’t mean I can’t see him as a son.” She turned her focus back to the other Vulcan male clustered around the PADD, “How are you, dear?”

“I am well, Amanda, thank you. I’ve had a wonderful doctor taking care of me.” His arm came up to tug Hayley into his side as she rolled her eyes.

Amanda chuckled, “Well it’s good to see you three together again. I expect you to come visit soon.”

“Of course,” Hayley nodded.

“Besides, we’ll need to start planning your wedding soon,” Amanda smirked. “I believe you owe me…how much was it again, Sybok?”

Hayley’s eyes widened, “You guys bet on if we’d get together?”

“Not if,” Sybok told her calmly as Spock raised an eyebrow. “When.”

Hayley groaned, rubbing a hand down her face, “I changed my mind. I don’t want to go home now.”

“Mother,” Spock redirected the conversation. “I was under the impression that Father wanted to speak with us.”

The older woman nodded, “He wanted to make sure you were all alright, but he’s been called away to an emergency council meeting. I decided to stay and take the call myself. He promised to call you all tomorrow, if he can.”

“Do you know what the emergency was?” Hayley’s brow furrowed. An unsettling feeling had settled in her stomach. Something was niggling in the back of her mind, something familiar, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly.

“No,” Amanda tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“Very much so,” Kirk approached them again, his voice strained. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have our own emergency. Or the same one, technically.”

“Jim?” Hayley straightened between the two Vulcans.

“One of the survivors,” he nodded to the Vulcans who had been herded away by a nurse for their check-ups. “He was left conscious after the initial attack. A handful of Romulans boarded their vessel to let loose the gas. He heard them discussing their plans. Apparently they blamed Vulcans for their Empire’s troubles. Something about a betrayal…He didn’t really understand. Anyway, they plan on unleashing the gas on the Vulcan High Council and taking Vulcan for the Romulan Empire. My guess is they’re overconfident and sent out a message to Vulcan to brag about their impending conquest. Either that, or the Vulcans just got wind of it.”

All three Vulcan natives stared at their captain in stunned silence. It was all too much to take in. Spock was the first to snap out of it, grapping the forgotten PADD from Hayley’s limp grasp and looking at his equally stunned human mother, “Mother, you must warn the High Council.”

Amanda blinked and shook her head, “Yes of course. I’ll have them contact you as soon as they come up with a plan.”

“Tell them I’ve already ordered to set course for Vulcan,” Kirk said, his authoritative “Captain’s Voice” (as Zooey called it) ringing throughout the Med Bay as he leaned over Spock’s shoulder to speak directly to Amanda. “We’ll be able to join them within twenty four hours.”

She nodded once, sent her children a worried look, and disconnected the call. Hayley and Spock slid to their feet, waiting for orders from their captain while Sybok hesitated on the bed. Technically he wasn’t part of the crew, but he was intricately involved in this already. He deserved to be able to help in any way he could while he was still recovering. Hayley could only hope that Kirk saw it that way as well.

Blue eyes scanned the three siblings in front of him, taking note of the hand Hayley had laid on Sybok’s shoulder as well as where Spock had placed his on the small of her back. He sighed and nodded in understanding, “Mandatory meeting in the Captain’s Conference Room in thirty minutes. I want all three of you there.”

* * *

A total of sixteen people turned up for the meeting. Kirk sat on one end of the table with his mother sitting at the other. (Both Kirks seemed much more at ease with one another as of late, even being more than just civil when they were forced to interact. They still didn’t search each other out, but Mikaela had confided in Hayley that they had made more progress than she had been hopeful for at this point.) At Jim’s right was his First Officer, followed as always by Hayley who held his hand under the table. They both needed the comfort at the moment. Sybok sat on her other side instead of one of her friends, his hand laid on her knee to keep it from giggling in nervousness.

Next came Zooey, the controls to the large screen behind Wynona in front of her, ready to switch them on and connect them to a call to Vulcan whenever they were ready. Then came Vi and Scotty, their clasped hands sitting on top the table. Nova sat between the Chief Engineer and Wynona, shifting uncomfortable like she wasn’t sure why she had been asked to join them while shooting looks to Khan who sat across from her. Only Wynona and Elba had been willing to sit next the man, the others still mistrustful of the near-stranger. Chekov sat beside Elba, his small presence almost disappearing behind Elba’s intense concentration as Jim explained what he’d already told the Vulcans present. (Elba was still dead set on returning Hayley’s favor of saving his life, no matter what anyone said on the matter, so she seemed the most invested in Jim’s words.)

Sulu sat next to his fellow helmsman, a PADD open in front of him so he could monitor the flight to Vulcan though another officer was in his place on the bridge while Command Crew were here. Daneel was practically vibrating with repressed energy as she sat at attention next to him. She wasn’t used to being singled out as part of the Command Crew yet, and was determined to prove she could be just as helpful as her sister. Mikaela was beside her, eyes going over everyone as she monitored any strained emotions (which was pretty much everyone) before she settled on looking at her best friend across the table. Hayley had her smiled weakly at one another as they shuffled closer to the men at their sides. McCoy glanced down beside him at the half-Betazoid but stayed silent as he turned back to Kirk.

“I understand that everyone present has some sort of reason for wanting to be a part of the landing party when we go to Vulcan,” Jim finished his explanation of the recent events. “Whether it’s simply for helping a friend, or a more personal reason. But I need one of us to stay behind and Captain the ship in my stead.” He paused, waiting for someone to volunteer when he clearly knew none of them would. He nodded and cleared his throat, “In that case…Mom?”

Wynona jerked in shock over her son addressing her directly, “Yes…”

“Would you be willing to be Acting Captain?”

“Me? Are you…Yes, of course, Jim. I’d be glad to help. But…Are you sure?”

He nodded, a small smirk gracing his features, “The Enterprise needs a Kirk at the helm.”

Everyone chuckled weakly at the failed attempt to lighten the mood. Jim nodded to Zooey who began working on the machine in front of her.

“Now that that’s settled, we’ll be taking a call from a member of the Vulcan High Council to see exactly what is going on on planet.”

Everyone turned to the large screen as it lit up. Ambassador Sarek came into view, his hands folded on top of the desk he was sitting at while he regarded them with a carefully blank expression. His eyes settled briefly on his children before turning to the Captain, “Captain Kirk. You have been made aware of the threat on Vulcan?”

“We have,” Jim nodded curtly. “However, I would like to know how exactly you were informed.”

“The Vulcan vessel stumbled upon sent out a brief message before communications failed. It merely stated that they were being attacked by Romulans.”

“One of the survivors said the Romulans were blaming Vulcan for something…” McCoy trailed off.

“This is Dr. McCoy, my Chief Medical Officer,” Jim explained at the Vulcan’s raised eyebrow.

Sarek inclined his head slightly, “Doctor, I would like to convey my wife’s and my gratitude for your assistance in rescuing my son and daughter.”

McCoy cleared his throat awkwardly, “With all due respect, sir, that was all Hayley’s doing. She’d the one who made the antidote and administered it to herself and Sybok.”

“None the less, they were under your care while they were recuperating, and for that we thank you. To answer your question, Vulcans and Romulans have a common ancestry. The Romulans were pushed from our society when Vulcans adopted the teachings of Surak during the Great Awakening. They chose to leave Vulcan and continue the barbaric ways of our ancestors. However, over time groups of Romulans have emerged to try and take back Vulcan. They blamed us for losing their original planet.”

“Why hasn’t the Federation been notified of this?” Jim merely sounded curious, not angry.

“Until these recent events, the groups of Romulans in these attacks have been few and far between, as well as largely disorganized. We did not feel it was dire enough to inform the Federation.”

“Well, now it is,” Jim straightened in his chair. “Now it’s affecting my crew. I offer myself and my crew to help in any way we can. We are already on course for Vulcan and should be arriving within a few hours.” He glanced at Sulu who gave a firm nod. “These Romulans seem to be staying with using the gas as their main offense. When we arrive we would like to have all of your high council and any others who may be seen as a threat vaccinated for their safety.”

“Understood Captain,” Sarek nodded in agreement. “All will be gathered and ready when you arrive.”

“Thank you, Ambassador.”

Jim motioned Zooey to cut the connection, but a second before she could a female voice called out, from somewhere off screen, “Don’t forget my money, Sybok!”

Hayley snorted in amusement as the screen went black, “Only mom would think of something like that right now.”

Zooey leaned forward to look at Hayley around Sybok, “Your family’s weird.”

No one disagreed with her.


	30. Chapter 30

The trip to Vulcan was surprisingly uneventful. Everyone was on edge, waiting for the next attack from the Romulans. None came and they parked over the desert planet without any delays. Hayley, Spock, and Sybok were the first to enter the transporter room, faces blank of any emotion. McCoy followed soon after, rolling his eyes at the expressionless Vulcans. But when he saw Hayley with the same look on her face he froze with one foot on the transporter pad.

“Is something the matter, doctor?” Sybok asked evenly, one hand coming up to squeeze Hayley’s shoulder in comfort. She leaned back into it, needing the reassurance more than she realized. One of her hands was already tucked into the crook of Spock’s arm, but it was nice to have her big brother with her as well. It made her feel safe and cared for more than anything else in the world.

Except maybe her parents.

Bones shook his head to clear it, “No, of course not.” He sighed as he moved to his position, eyes still on Hayley.

She managed to give him a weak smile, “I’m fine. Just worried is all.”

He nodded in understanding and turned to the door as everyone else began to file in. It was a bit of a tight squeeze fitting everyone on one teleport pad, but they managed in the end. When they had beamed to the surface, just outside the Vulcan Council Building, they were met by Vulcan’s Ambassador to Earth. Sarek’s eyes traveled through the group until they landed on his children, taking note of every hidden worry line on their faces. Hayley noticed the tense line of his shoulders relaxing ever-so-slightly when he saw they had no injuries. Finally he looked back to the Captain and raised his hand in the Vulcan salute.

“You are most welcome, Captain Kirk,” he said evenly.

Jim smiled and matched his salute, “Thank you. I’m happy to be here, though I wish it were for better circumstances.”

Sarek eyed him for a second before giving him a small nod, “Quite. If you would follow me…” He paused to glance once more at his three children before turning sharply on his heal and leading the Starfleet officers into the building.

Bones whistled lowly, “Never thought I’d see the day where Spock looked emotional to me. Are all Vulcans like that?”

Hayley shrugged as Mikaela linked arms with her, “Usually. But Dad’s just a little more stressed than usual today, so it’s a bit worse.”

The doctor’s head whipped around to give her a wide-eyed look, “Dad?”

“Sarek is Sybok’s and my father. Hayley is his goddaughter,” Spock explained, giving a small nod to a Vulcan they passed.

“I thought we covered this,” Hayley raised an eyebrow. “Multiple times.”

Mikaela giggled as Bones huffed, “It’s a little different when there’s actual proof.”

Hayley just rolled her eyes in response. Picking on Bones could only distract her for so long. Her mind just kept going over and over everything that could go terribly wrong. Every living member of her family was now on Vulcan, right in the middle of the biggest target for a Romulan attack. Though, she had already survived such an attack numerous times. There was no reason this time would be any different. But at what cost?

They turned a corner of the maze-like corridors that led to the main meeting room for the council and a small group of females came into view. Hayley let out a breath at the sight of one distinctly human. Before she, or one of her Vulcan family members, could stop her, Hayley broke free of the group and ran forward, skidding across the stone floor to crash into Amanda who promptly wrapped her arms around the younger woman and stumbled back a step. They were both giggling when they heard Sarek sigh in exasperation. The other females dispersed as the Starfleet officers approached with their guide.

“Hayley,” Sarek said in a reprimanding tone.

It was enough to have her ducking her head further into her mother’s shoulder. She knew he wouldn’t like her emotional display, but she couldn’t help it. She had missed Amanda and was more than a little shaken from everything that had happened. Seeing her mother again allowed all of it to catch up to her and she just wanted a moment to feel like a kid again and give in to her overemotional human tendencies.

“It’s alright, Sarek,” Amanda said calmly, running a hand through Hayley’s hair. The older woman buried her nose in her daughter’s hair and kissed the crown of her head. “I missed you too. I missed all of my children, though I don’t suppose you two would very much like a hug.”

Hayley giggled. She could just imagine the subtle looks of disbelief on all three Vulcan’s faces.

“This will just have to do then,” Amanda said, squeezing her daughter a little tighter before releasing her. “Let me get a better look at you. You’ve grown up so much! You need to visit more!”

“I know, I know. Sorry,” Hayley smiled at her softly. At least she knew one thing would never change. Amanda may be older, lines marring her once flawless face, but at least she still had the same willful spirit.

“Amanda, the Council…” Sarek began, trailing off at the sharp look Amanda sent him.

“Can wait until I’ve greeted my children properly. And been introduced to their friends, of course.”

Jim grinned at the sight of a Vulcan backing down and stepped forward with his hand raised, “Captain James T. Kirk, ma’am.”

“Ah yes,” Amanda’s lips twitched as she shared a look with her daughter and shook his hand. “Nice to finally put a face to the name.”

“You’ve heard about me?”

“There have been some…stories of your…what’s the word I’m looking for?”

“Exploits?” Hayley offered.

“Oh, that’s a good word.”

Mikaela and Zooey were stifling cackles behind their hands, causing Jim to look at them with raised eyebrows, “Do I even want to know?”

“No,” Hayley, Mikaela, Zooey, and Vi all said at the same time.

“Mom,” Hayley moved to introduce everyone else. “This is Mikaela Troi, Daneel Troi, Zooey Storm, Viola Cutler, and Elphaba. I’ve mentioned all of them before I think.”

“Yes, you have. It’s nice to meet all of you.”

The girls all returned the sentiment as Hayley moved on, “And this is Leonard McCoy, Montgomery Scott, Hikaru Sulu, and Pavel Chekov. They’re all part of the command crew on the Enterprise.”

Amanda welcomed them and then turned to the remaining two people.

“And this is Nova Austen and Khan Singh. They’ve been helping with making more of the vaccine to prepare for the Romulan attack.”

“Well, thank you for coming,” Amanda smiled at the last two and turned to her children again, “I expect you to be available for a family dinner tonight.”

“Promise,” Hayley smiled, giving her mother another brief hug.

“Good,” Amanda smiled at the group, “Then, I better get going. Have fun storming the castle!”

Hayley snorted as the woman walked away, probably towards their old home to set up all the guest rooms. She quickly dissolved into laughter however, when she noticed her friend’s confused expressions.

“It is a quote from their favorite Earth movie,” Spock explained, watching with twinkling eyes as Hayley leaned against the wall to keep upright.

“ _The Princess Bride_.” Sybok hummed with a smile, “I’d forgotten about that.”

“When you are finished,” Sarek commented, coming up to eye his daughter.

Hayley quickly pulled herself together, standing straight and ducking her head to hide the small smile still playing on her lips, “My apologizes, father.”

He nodded and motioned for them to follow as he continued down the hall to intimidating double doors that stood at the end.

* * *

Hayley smiled at her mother as the woman handed her a knife to cut the vegetables for the stew they were making. After the relatively quick meeting with the council Hayley, Spock, and Sybok had returned to their home with their friends, where they had quickly traded out their Starfleet uniforms for their typical Vulcan clothing. Now the three Vulcans in the family were quietly discussing something in the living room while Hayley helped Amanda prepare dinner.

The other Starfleet officers had been coerced into going to a formal dinner by the council. They would have been forced to go to if it weren’t for the family dinner they had planned. They would have been forced to despite it if it hadn’t been for Hayley.

“It’s a human tradition to have family dinners after long absences,” she’d told the council in her most deadpan voice. The word human had them quickly dropping the subject and allowing Amanda’s children the freedom to join her for dinner. Worked every time.

Amanda had laughed when Hayley explained what had happened, “They will never get used to humans being on Vulcan.”

Hayley hummed in agreement as she carefully cut through the vegetables set in front of her. She doubted anyone would want her blood mixed into the stew.

“Did they at least listen about the vaccines?”

“Oh, yeah,” Hayley nodded. “They knew the only way they were guaranteed to survive was to take preventive measures against the gas. Their little snide comments about how amazing it was that a human could come up with something like this weren’t really necessary though.”

Amanda groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Khan said while we were on our way back here that if it weren’t for the fact that he was after the Romulans he probably would have kicked their asses. And considering his near-superhuman status he might actually have succeeded.”

Amanda snorted and dropped her voice to a whisper, “Don’t tell anyone, but I would have paid good money to see that.”

Hayley laughed as Amanda primly stirred the stew. Spock walked in a second later and raised an eyebrow in question. Hayley shook her head at him and went back to her vegetables. Spock’s hand appeared above hers, taking the knife from her hand.

“Spock?” Amanda questioned.

“Perhaps Hayley could set the table. I am more than adequate to assisting you mother.”

Hayley snorted, “He’s worried I’m going to cut myself. I’m not that accident prone, you know. I’m not Daneel.” She poked him in the side in retaliation but went and got the plates from the cupboard anyway.

“Freeze, little miss,” Amanda demanded before she could escape the kitchen. “Enough tiptoeing around this subject. I let it slide while you were still on the Enterprise because I thought you would want to tell me in person, but clearly you have no intention to do that. I already know so out with it.”

“If you already knew, Mother, I do not understand why you wish for Hayley to state what is apparently obvious.”

“Hush, Spock, this is between me and your Bondmate.”

“Mother, you misunderstand,” Spock moved to stand between the two humans, instinctively shielding Hayley from a non-existent attack. Amanda raised an eyebrow but stayed silent when Spock continued, “Hayley and I are not Bonded.”

“Perhaps not now, but you are T’hy’la.”

“Yes,” Hayley rolled her eyes at Spock and moved around him, placing the stack of plates on the counter to take her mother’s hands, “And I was going to talk to you about it _after_ the Romulan situation was over.”

“Oh,” Amanda smiled. “That makes sense.” She leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead, “Go set the table.”

Hayley nodded and took up the plates again, stopping at Spock’s questioning look. She smiled at him, “It’s a human thing.”


	31. Chapter 31

Hayley twirled the slowly dissolving lollipop around in her mouth as she watched Spock contemplate the chess board in front of them. After dinner the whole family had gathered in the living room, to relax and simply _be_ together. _The Princess Bride_ was playing on the large screen in the background, as was tradition, but no one was paying it a lot of attention. Amanda had stretched out on the sofa, her head resting against her husband’s thigh as she drifted in and out of sleep. Sarek was going over the plans for the Romulan attack once more, just in case, while Sybok was lounged by the window, alternating between staring blankly out at the growing darkness of night and reading the book resting in his lap.

It had been the most natural thing in the world to use this small moment of peace to play another game of chess. Spock was letting Hayley win, as usual, but was putting on more of a show, staring at the board for long periods of time before making a move. She grinned when his eyes flickered up to hers, sparkling with amusement. She grinned around the stick in her mouth and pulled it out with a loud _pop!_ Were he human, he would have rolled his eyes. Instead she got her father calling from across the room.

“Hayley.” Her name alone was all the admonishment she needed.

She didn’t answer, just quietly slipped the candy back into her mouth and followed Spock’s hand as he maneuvered a chess piece from one level to the next, leaving his queen vulnerable. He raised an eyebrow in challenge as he folded his hands atop the table. It had almost become a game now – to see how long they could stretch out a match while he continually set up winning moves for her. She moved her pawn one space forward, into the path of one of his knights and his lips twitched into a half-smile. She returned it before blinking in the suddenly blinding light coming from the window.

“What…” Amanda’s voice trailed off as all the family surged to their feet and hurried to the window where Sybok was staring out with wide eyes.

“I believe you need to rejoin your captain,” the eldest son said slowly, watching as flames curled up in the sky from one of the buildings across the city.

“That’s not…” Hayley frowned trying to think of the layout of the city. She’d been gone too long to remember where exactly the banquet hall where they held all the Federation Dinners was positioned.

“No the hall is there,” Sybok pointed further to the right. “However, if this was meant to serve as a distraction…”

Spock didn’t wait for his brother to finish talking. Grasping Hayley’s wrist, he rushed from the room, Sarek hot on their heels. They didn’t have time to change back into their uniforms, instead rushing out onto the streets in their normal casual attire. They blended in with the Vulcans emerging from their homes to gawk at the red and orange flames reaching up to the sky in the distance. If the situation were any different, Hayley might have found it amusing how similar they were to humans at the moment. Standing and staring when they should be helping, or at the very least running for their lives.

“What building is that?” Hayley asked, keeping her eyes forward as she concentrated on keeping up with Spock’s long strides while not tripping over the hem of her dress.

“The library, I believe,” Sarek answered, managing to catch up to them. He took hold of her elbow to help her keep up.

She sighed sadly, “Of course. It’s always the library.”

“This is only the second fire to ignite within the library,” Spock said. “The first being when we were children and you hid a newborn Misian Dragon in your rucksack.”

Her eyes widen in innocence, “How was I to know that Misian Dragons could really breathe fire? And a newborn at that. I just wanted to compare it to the pictures in the Terran storybooks.”

Sarek let out a quiet noise of amusement as they finally approached the banquet hall. The Captain as well as Elba, McCoy, and Sulu stood outside, phasers out as they scanned the area. Their heads snapped to attention when the three’s approaching footsteps could be heard.

Kirk relaxed slightly when he recognized them, “No attacks yet. Though we’re assuming the fire is just a diversion since most of the High Council is here tonight.”

“This was a bit sudden, don’t ya think?” Hayley huffed as she tried to catch her breath. Vulcans in a hurry tended to forget she couldn’t keep up with them very well.

“Maybe the Enterprise made them jump the gun?” Sulu asked, eyes back to running over the perimeter.

“Probable,” Spock nodded once.

“ _Enterprise to Captain Kirk_ ,” Wynona’s harried voice drifted through Jim’s Communicator.

Jim flipped it open with a wince, clearly not wanting to know why she sounded harassed, “This is Kirk.”

“ _The Romulan ship from before approached, we engaged, and the threat has been neutralized. We now have three Romulans in custody._ ”

McCoy’s eyebrows shot up, “Damn.”

“Don’t mess with Mama Kirk,” Sulu chuckled.

“ _Unfortunately there records show ten transported down minutes before they approached us. They’re on Vulcan, Jim._ ”

Jim sighed, “Yeah, I thought as much. Good job. We’ll take it from here. Kirk out.”

“We should discuss the situation with the High Council,” Spock informed Jim grimly, his eyes now following the same path as Sulu’s, though he probably saw more in the dark. The grip on Hayley’s wrist finally released long enough for him to place his hand on her back, guiding her closer to him protectively. A movement not missed by the four Federation officers or the Ambassador. Kirk shared a smirk with Bones as he led the way in making Hayley stick her tongue out at the back of his blonde head.

* * *

Hayley leaned against the cool stone of the building just inside of the balcony door where she was keeping watch. The High Council had been very understanding of the situation and allowed the Federation Officers free reign to do what was needed. Jim had called the Enterprise for reinforcements, so that each Council Member would have a body guard of sorts for the time being, while the others spread out to watch for suspicious activity. It was made harder by the Romulans having such a similar appearance to Vulcans, but they’d have to do their best and hope it was enough.

Approaching footsteps had her straightening and the hand gripping the phaser to tense. She tilted her head to the side to listen more closely as the person moved at a leisurely pace around the corner. Before they could make it very far, she whipped the phaser up, pointing it directly at the person’s chest only to drop it a second later when she recognized her new visitor.

“You startled me,” she explained.

T’Pring nodded demurely, “I apologize.”

Hayley sighed. Ever since they were children the two girls had never gotten along. It had started when their parents had first began talk of the betrothal of Spock and T’Pring, which quickly fell through, due in large part to Hayley. As a four-year-old human she wasn’t capable of understanding what was going on, only that T’Pring was going to take away her Spock, the person she spent every waking hour with, the person who curled up beside her in bed when she had a nightmare (or just because), the person who didn’t judge her for being different and went out of his way to include her. Naturally, Hayley fought it. She refused to stand by while Spock was sent off with someone else, even if it wouldn’t happen for years to come, like Amanda had told her. She _couldn’t_ lose Spock. She just couldn’t.

Unfortunately for T’Pring, Hayley took her four-year-old anger out on her. Glue on her seat, frogs (that Hayley got from the Terran greenhouse Amanda gardened in) in her bed when she visited, and vicious kicks from under the dinner table where just a few of the things T’Pring had to put up with.

The betrothal would have probably continued despite all that if it hadn’t been for the Vulcan girl’s father walking into Spock’s bedroom one evening to see Hayley curled up between her two brothers for a nap. Apparently, he was extremely old fashioned and didn’t want his daughter around a family that allowed boys and girls to share beds. Later, when they were old enough to understand, Amanda admitted that it had been more Spock’s human heritage and Hayley practically living with them that had turned them off.

Still, no one knew how to hold a grudge like a Vulcan, even if they never admitted to that. T’Pring never did speak to Hayley again (until this moment) even though the Vulcan and ended up married to a man she very much loved (again, not something they would admit).

“Is there something you needed, T’Pring?” she asked politely.

T’Pring shifted minutely, her eyes glancing away quickly. Hayley recognized the signs of a Vulcan fighting an emotional response and sighed. This was going to be a long night.

“I wished…” she trailed off, something so un-Vulcan-like that Hayley immediately began to worry.

“T’Pring?”

The woman’s shoulders straightened marginally, “I wished to speak with you.”

“Alright,” Hayley moved back to her post, keeping one eye on the Vulcan. “What is it?”

“My father,” Hayley winced at the mention of the harsh (by Vulcan standards) man but allowed her to continue, “informed me that it was you who created the vaccine that prevents the gas the Romulans threatened us with from harming us.”

“I had a hand in it, yes,” Hayley’s eyes turned outside towards the perimeter.

“I understand in childhood we did not have…” she faltered on her words, unsure of how to express herself.

“I hated your guts,” Hayley acknowledged bluntly.

Her smooth brow furrowed, “I do not understand how my intestines pertain to the conversation or why you would feel hatred towards them.”

Hayley blinked and burst into fits of giggles, using the wall at her back to stay upright. T’Pring continued to look befuddled, only adding to the human’s amusement.

Wiping tears of joy from her eyes, Hayley attempted to explain between laughs, “No…I…It’s a…a human…expression.”

“Oh,” she said simply, clearly not getting it.

Hayley took a deep breath, steadying herself as she caught her breath, “What I meant was I greatly disliked you. I had no reason to, other than a simple misunderstanding. At the time, I was under the impression that you were…well, basically that you were going to take Spock away from me.”

“The betrothal?”

“Exactly. Humans don’t really have arranged marriages anymore and as a child I didn’t understand what was happening, so I took it out on you. I apologize for that. I understand now that it was irrational and emotional, so you may not really understand…”

“He is your T’hy’la.” That didn’t sound like a question.

Hayley smiled shyly, “Yes. He is.”

“Then I understand,” she nodded reassuringly. “I would never take your T’hy’la.”

“I know that now. Thank you.”

She had the feeling that they had drifted away from what T’Pring had originally come to talk about but before she could redirect it, an almighty crash sounded from down the hall followed by shouts. Without a backwards glance, Hayley gathered her long skirt up in one hand, phaser at the ready in the other, and raced down the hall. T’Pring’s light step followed close behind.

They turned a corner where shouting continued to pierce the air. Two Romulans stood with their backs to the door Hayley was peering into, holding out their weapons. One was holding up a glass case with swirling yellow-ish green gas held inside. Chekov lay sprawled on the ground, blood pooling beneath him while Sulu knelt beside him, hands pressed to his chest to stem the flow of blood spurting from his right shoulder. The Asian’s eyes were wide with terror as the Russian steadily grew paler.

Hayley squinted at the weapon one of the Romulans was waving around, eyes widening in dawning horror. What she had originally assumed was standard phasers was actually old-fashioned Terran pistols. Like something out of the Wild West.

“Where is the High Council?” the Romulan with the gas – clearly the leader – demanded.

Sulu shook his head, “They were removed from the premises.”

“You lie!” he shouted. “Do you want to end up like your friend? Huh?”

Hayley slid back out of the doorway and turned to her companion. T’Pring’s eyes were wide, unidentifiable emotions swirling in their dark depths. She pressed her hand into the Vulcan’s shoulder to get her attention, “Go. Get Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy. Tell them Chekov’s been shot.”

T’Pring hesitated, eyes darting back and forth between the human and the door before she straightened her shoulder, her resolve strengthening. She gave one curt nod and disappeared back the way they came. Hayley watched her go for a moment before taking a deep, slow breath in. As quickly as she could, she spun back to the doorway, firing off a shot to one of the weapon-wielding Romulans. He went down like a ton of bricks, though only stunned. The other two gathered their wits faster than she would have liked and she was immediately fired upon, forcing her to duck back out behind the door.

One of them cursed loudly. She waited, listening carefully for any sound of movement. What she failed to remember, however, was that Romulans were decedents from the same people as Vulcans and one thing she learned growing up, was that if a Vulcan didn’t want to be heard coming up behind you, you didn’t hear.


	32. Chapter 32

A quiet, steady murmur drifted through the darkness. The deep resonating sound wound around her in a comforting embrace she settled into happily. She wasn’t sure where she was or what was going on, but on the most basic level she knew that voice was her saving grace, the only thing she needed. She clung to the even tones while the blackness in her mind pressed down on her. She pushed back, using the voice to give her strength until the black subsided enough to recognize the words being spoken.

She’d smile if she could move. Spock’s voice was the one speaking to her, grounding her. He was reading to her, like he had when she first came aboard the Enterprise, unconscious from the gas. There were other, whispering voices in the background, like the low buzz of a TV in a Dentist’s waiting room, but she ignored them. She concentrated on Spock’s voice as she drifted in and out of awareness for an immeasurable amount of time.

The sudden absence of Spock jerked her back to the land of the living, though not entirely. The black tide still held her under, keeping her motionless and silent. There were others there, judging by the steady breathing and quiet conversation, but no Spock. She wasn’t sure why she was so positive about that, but she was. She felt oddly bereft without him, and could feel the beginnings of panic setting in, her breaths coming fast and shallow. She could distantly hear erratic beeping as the black tugged her, dragging her back under.

“ _Bones!_ ” someone suddenly called from beside her bed, sounding worried. “ _What’s happening?_ ”

Hayley never heard the answer as she fell gratefully back into oblivion. She wasn’t certain why, but she knew she couldn’t handle being awake without Spock there. She needed her T’hy’la to feel safe. It felt like she was dying without him, no matter how melodramatic that sounded. The darkness encompassing her mind was better than the sheer panic that seized her heart when she realized he wasn’t at her side.

When she finally allowed herself to tentatively approach consciousness once more, a lot had changed. The beeping, signaling she was, in fact, still alive was gone. As was the slightly uncomfortable biobed. The presence of her previous visitors was missing as well. Her nose no longer tickled with the sharp, clean scent of the medbay. Instead, she inhaled deeply (only then realizing that had been a difficult task up until now) to drag in the sweet scent of honeysuckle and lavender. The soft chirping of crickets reached her ears as a light breeze brushed her hair against her face.

The bed she was sprawled out on dipped and a body stretched out beside her. An arm casually draped over her middle and stroked her side tenderly. Instinctively, Hayley turned into the person, tucking herself into the protective circle of arms and burying her face in his shirt. She took another deep breath, this time inhaling the deep musky scent of someone she knew extremely well.

“Spock,” she muttered as she sank deeper into the mattress. Her hands curled into the soft cotton of his shirt, desperate to keep him as close as possible.

“ _Ashayam_ ,” he breathed into her hair. “You are worrying everyone.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion, “Huh?”

“You are not waking again,” he explained gently. “You were healing satisfactorily. You had reached the beginnings of consciousness when you began to hyperventilate. Mikaela was most distressed. Dr. McCoy is unsure what has happened to ‘set you back’ as he said.”

Gently she extracted herself from his arms and pushed herself into a sitting position. A quick glance around told her she was in her and Spock’s room at Bones’ cabin. She felt comfortable, safe, happy here. It was nice, but really not what she should be focusing on. Something had happened to her, it seemed, to make her unconscious for a long period of time. She’d been getting better, and then got worse again. And she could only vaguely remember all of this.

“We’re in a mind-meld again, aren’t we?” she asked offhandedly, trying to recall whatever events had put her in this position.

“Precisely,” he scooted closer to her on the bed again, wrapping an arm around her back as she stared into space.

She sighed and leaned into his side, her head dropping to his shoulder, “I give up. What happened? I can’t remember anything.”

His arm tightened and he struggled to contain his emotions before answering, “The Romulans confronted us during the High Council’s dinner. We managed to evacuate most of the civilians in the building, however, the Romulans had somehow obtained nineteenth century Terran firearms. Ensign Chekov had been shot while attempting to confront three alongside Lieutenant Sulu. T’Pring came to inform Dr. McCoy and the Captain while you…”

His voice became too strangled for him to continue, and in a surprising show of emotion, he grabbed ahold of her and lifted her into his lap. His arms banded around her tightly, molding her to his chest as he buried his face in her hair. She could feel her hair dampen from what she could only assume was tears. Her heart clenched in reaction and she had to clear her throat multiple times before she was able to push out anything comprehensible.

“I don’t know what to do, Spock…” she whispered, head bowed. Vague memories were beginning to creep up, a paralyzing loneliness chasing her back to the shadows. “You weren’t there.”

He raised his head, all traces of tears miraculously gone. One slanted eyebrow rose in question, making her grin weakly.

“I remember…When I was waking up, you weren’t there. It scared me. I didn’t…I couldn’t…”

He clutched her tighter, breath stuttering out as he whispered apologies in multiple languages, including their own. They rocked back and forth together on the bed, drawing comfort from one another until both had settled, hearts calmed to their normal pace. Hayley pressed a hand to his side, just to make sure, and sighed at the steady rhythm.

“I think I’m ready to wake up now,” she murmured, her eyes drooping despite her words. She felt phantom lips press against her temple as the blackness from before slowly folded over her mind again. Whispered words didn’t quite reach her ears.

Once more, she was suspended in the black tide, unable to pull herself out of it. She wracked her brain for an anchor, anything to pull her to consciousness. Spock. She needed Spock. Her ears strained to hear even a small slur. Her hands twitched at her side, eager to reach out for him, though she had no way of knowing whether or not it affected her physical body. Her mind screamed out for her T’hy’la while she continued to be weighed down by nothing, by shadows.

She’d nearly given up when she heard it. Just a small whisper, like a caress, at first, but growing stronger. His voice, calling for her, saying her name over and over, mixed in with a line of endearments. A pressure on her fingers made her realize she could feel him holding her hand. Other voices began to break through the fog, slowly becoming familiar until she could start naming them. Amanda, her mother in every way that counted. Sybok, her dear big brother. Bones, another brother though he came later in life. Mikaela, her best friend and sister. She floated within her mind and drew comfort from their presence, until finally, _finally_ the fog began to clear and she could blink her eyes open, fingers tightening around the ones resting in her palm.

“Hayley?” Amanda’s voice reached her first, making her frown.

She blinked some to try and clear her vision, humming an answer when she realized her throat was too dry to form words. Exclamations of relief and joy went up around her and suddenly a face was looming above her, a hand gently caressing her cheek.

“ _Ashayam_ ,” he whispered reverently. “Hayley. T’hy’la.”

She grinned weakly and forced herself to croak out, “Hi, sweetie.”


	33. Chapter 33

It took a few weeks, but eventually Hayley was back on her feet, though she wasn’t allowed back on the ship quite yet. Instead she spent her days on Vulcan with Amanda and Spock. The others came and went as they handled the aftermath of the confrontation with the Romulans. Surprisingly, the Romulan Empire had been more than happy to cooperate with them, practically shunning the ones who had started all of this. The guilty parties would be tried on Vulcan as that was where the main focus of the attack had been, though a few of the families of the victims from Tartarus would be joining them as well. The only bright side to all of this was the new treaty between the Romulan Empire and the Federation. It seemed peace was possible, as long as they had a common enemy. Relations would still be strained, but it was better than it had been before.

Things within the Enterprise crew were better than ever, though some things had changed. Elba and Chekov had grown astonishingly close over the months, but that didn’t stop the surprised gasps when they showed up to a crew dinner in one of Vulcan’s best restaurants (a week after the Chekov and Hayley had been allowed to leave the hospital) holding hands and grinning like idiots. No one had seen that coming, but everyone had seen Scotty getting down on one knee and proposing to Vi.

During that same dinner, just before the desserts came, while conversations were hushed and everyone was leaning back comfortably in their seats, Scotty called everyone’s attention to him. All eyes turned to him as he stood, cheeks flushing as he stuttered out some sort of explanation no one understood. He sighed when everyone continued to stare at him blankly and turned to Vi, who sat next to him.

When he sank down to one knee, everything became much clearer. Mikaela was suddenly gripping Hayley’s arm tightly in her excitement and Zooey was practically vibrating in her seat. Daneel had her hands clamped over her mouth to keep in the squeals of delight that threatened to escape. Vi had frozen in her seat, eyes going wide as she watched Scotty reach into his suit jacket and pull out a small velvet box. Before he could get out the question, however, she had regained her senses and launched herself at him, knocking them down to the ground as their friends laughed.

“Well,” Scotty chuckled from beneath his new fiancé. “I take that as a yes.”

“Yes,” she nodded excitedly, moving just far enough to take the box from him and shove the ring onto her finger, not bothering to really look at it before she was back to kissing him enthusiastically.

It took a moment (and a threat from the manager to ban them from the restaurant) for the couple to compose themselves enough to rejoin their friends. The girls immediately huddled around the ring, giggling to themselves. Hayley stayed behind, still too tired from her healing injury to do much more than sit there. Instead, she leaned into Spock’s side and tried not to think of a time when that could be her.

“So,” Jim grinned, breaking through the chattering females. “You’re gonna let me…uh…what do you call it?”

Zooey rolled her eyes fondly, “He wants to preside over the wedding.”

“Right. Let’s go with that,” he grinned again at the couple.

Scotty shot a look at his fiancé before answering, “Well, that was the plan, Captain.”

Hayley snorted as she picked at the cake set in front of her that was decidedly _not_ chocolate. As much as everyone at the table was tipsy, she didn’t think it would be good to tempt Spock to do the same. And as they tended to eat off each other’s plates, chocolate wasn’t the best of ideas.

* * *

The next morning, Hayley was drowsing lightly, not quite ready to get up yet as her T’hy’la and her brother squished her between them (they really should get a bigger bed, or you know, _not_ sleep together anymore), when the door slammed open, ricocheting off the wall harshly. She peeked over Sybok’s shoulder to see a giggling Mikaela and a red faced Bones storm into the room. Hayley rolled her eyes and tucked herself back into bed. She really couldn’t care what all that was about.

A heavy weight suddenly landing on her legs, however, told her she really didn’t have any choice but listen. She sighed as she twisted around in Spock’s arms, pushing up so she could lean against the headboard. Miraculously, both Vulcans were still dead to the world. Sybok shifted so that he was lying on his back, his head pressed against her hip while Spock moved his own head to her lap, his arms having slipped down around her legs when she moved. She gently brushed her fingers through his hair in a soothing gesture as she motioned for Mikaela to say whatever she came in for.

The half-Betazoid folded her legs and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, “So Bones and I went to wake up Jim this morning, for that conference call with Pike.”

Hayley hummed in understanding when her friend paused for dramatic effect. McCoy grumbled under his breath, cheeks still tinted pink, and walked to the armchair pushed into the corner of the room. He slouched down and stared at the ceiling like it was going to give him the answers to life, completely ignoring the others.

“Well, guess what we found there,” Mikaela grinned mischievously.

Hayley let out another sigh, not awake enough to deal with this. She shot a look at Bones who was still studying the cracks in the ceiling, “Obviously something that made Bones uncomfortable.”

He grumbled unintelligibly in answer.

Mikaela giggled, “Zooey and Jim were in bed together. Naked.”

Hayley blinked, “Wh…I…ugh! I did not need that image in my head.”

Bones snorted, “Think how I feel.”

“I am so sorry.”

Mikaela rolled her eyes, “ _Anyway_. We woke him up.”

“Excuse me,” the doctor interrupted. “We?”

“Fine, _I_ woke him up. He didn’t really appreciate that.”

“I guessed as much,” Hayley shook her head. “He’s going to kill you. I hope you know that.”

Mikaela waved the comment away, “Whatever. Not much he can do.”

She raised an eyebrow, “He’s our Captain. He can make your life a living hell.”

“…Crap.”

Bones chuckled as Hayley dissolved into giggles at the horrorstruck look on her friend’s face. Her movement caused Spock to blink awake sleepily. He twisted his head around to look at the visitors to his room and let out a nearly nonexistent sigh. He buried his face back in Hayley’s lap, either not entirely awake or choosing to pretend no one else was there. Hayley smiled fondly at him, running her hand through his locks again as he all but purred at the sensation. Sybok seems to sense the shift in the room and wakes as well, but unlike his brother, he doesn’t even acknowledge the humans’ presence as he shuffles (or the Vulcan equivalent, whatever that would be called) to the bathroom, the door clicking closed quietly.

Mikaela smiled in amusement at the lack of clarity the Vulcans had this early in the morning and jumped off the bed, “Well, we’ll get out of your hair.” She hurried over to Bones, grabbing his hand and tugging him to the door.

“Mikaela.” When her friend glanced over her shoulder, Hayley pointedly glanced at the entwined fingers between the two leaving the room. “We’ll talk later?”

A pink tint shaded her cheeks as she nodded and hurried out the door, dragging the doctor with her. Bones had the courtesy to pull the door shut behind him. Hayley grinned when Spock tugged her down onto the bed beside him, curling around her body for warmth. She hummed in pleasure, tucking her head under his chin and deciding maybe she could sleep in a bit. Just this once.

* * *

Nova sauntered into Med Bay like she owned the place, setting Hayley’s teeth on edge. It shouldn’t really bother her. Nova hardly ever even glanced at her, let alone speak to her, but that didn’t stop her obnoxious giggles from floating across the room.

Having gotten the revenge for his crew that had been killed (apparently he recognized one of the Romulans he’d run in to that first night on Vulcan and beat him practically to a pulp; no one blamed him or tried to stop him), Khan had turned into an invaluable member of the Enterprise crew. He’d joined the science department, helping Spock run it when the First Officer had other duties to take care of while also helping out in Med Bay whenever possible. Hayley was the main one working with him in both departments, which meant she was forced to endure his biggest fan.

Nova fucking Austen.

The most annoying woman on the planet.

It was funny at first. Now it was just migraine-inducing. Hayley sighed, rubbing her temples to try to keep a growing headache at bay. When Nova’s loud twitter reached her ears, she stood abruptly, mumbling a half-assed excuse as she left the back lab where she and Khan worked most days and entered the main room of Medical. Bones glanced up from where he was reviewing a nurse’s work on a patient’s physical. The doctor nodded at the nurse to continue before he joined Hayley at the side of the room.

“You okay?” he asked worriedly.

Sometimes it was annoying how well he knew her. She never willingly left the lab this early in the day. Hell, even at the end of the day Spock had to usually come and drag her away.

She sighed, “Nova’s here again.”

Bones chuckled in understanding, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, “Well, come on. It’s almost lunch time anyway. You may be well enough to work now, but you still need to eat.”

She nodded. She may as well eat, it wasn’t like she was going to get much work done with Nova around.

When they got to the rec room where all the command crew usually gathered to eat or just relax, Hayley immediately drifted toward the First Officer while Bones settled beside Mikaela on the love seat. She sat down on the ground, her back leaning against the half-Vulcan’s legs. He glanced down at her, affection in his eyes before he returned to his conversation with the Captain. Zooey was perched in Jim’s lap, munching on an apple, her eyes trained on the television on the opposite wall. Scotty and Vi were still absent, but would no doubt make an appearance soon. Chekov was sitting at a table not far away, sharing his meal with Elba who was smiling widely. Hayley grinned at the sight. She couldn’t think of a better person for the innocent Sangian than the sweet-tempered Russian. They’d already been unanimously voted the ship’s cutest couple (not that they were aware of that, of course).

Hayley frowned when she realized two people were missing from their usual group. Not including Nova and Khan, that is, since she knew where they were. But where were Daneel and Sulu? When she voiced her curiosity, Mikaela smirked from her position against Bones’ chest.

“Daneel asked Sulu to teach her fencing. You know, like he did with us.”

Hayley’s brow furrowed, “Okay.” But why was Mikaela still looking so smug.

Zooey snorted loudly, drawing everyone’s attention, “Poor Sulu.”

“Why ‘poor Sulu’? I mean, yeah, Daneel can be a little…okay, yeah, poor Sulu.”

Mikaela laughed, “No, not just that. Daneel has a crush on Sulu.”

“Oh God,” Hayley shuddered. That was so much worse than Nova’s annoying giggling.

She had firsthand experience when Daneel had a crush. When she had first visited Mikaela’s family during Thanksgiving break their first year at the Academy, Daneel had apparently first been discovering that she was, in fact, bisexual. Hayley had the misfortune of being one of her first crushes on another female. The younger girl had followed Hayley like a puppy, latching on to her and refusing to budge. Worse than that, anytime Hayley so much as mentioned liking a certain thing, whether it be a food, drink, a type of music, a movie, anything, Daneel would state she loved it as well (even when she hated it) and learn as much about it as possible. When she had found out Hayley was from Vulcan, the girl had spent three nights straight researching the planet and its culture before passing out in the middle of breakfast.

In short, Daneel was the definition of _too much_.

Poor Sulu, indeed.

* * *

That night was the last night they were spending on Vulcan. The Romulans had been sentenced to death (Vulcans could be quite unforgiving when threatened) and were scheduled to be carried out in the morning. After which, the Enterprise was ordered to return back to Earth for new orders. Amanda cooked up a big family dinner, this time including all of the command crew as well. It was noisy and messy and so _them_ that not even Sarek seemed to mind.

During the meal, Spock kept a steady hand on Hayley’s knee, squeezing at irregular intervals. Whenever she made eye contact with him, she had to quickly look away, startled by the heat in the brown orbs. She couldn’t remember a time when he looked at her like that. He always held a sort of affection in his gaze for just her, but never that intense look that made her turn into goo in her seat. Luckily, no one else seemed to notice anything amiss.

The women gathered in the kitchen to clean up in an attempt to get away from the men for a while and Hayley felt oddly chilled without Spock’s heat at her side. Shaking off the feeling, she perched on the counter by the sink and helped Daneel dry dishes while Amanda and Daneel washed. Vi and Zooey were pouring everyone glasses of dark red wine and discussing wedding plans. Elba was sitting at the breakfast bar (a design Amanda chose so it resembled a Terran kitchen) playing with the Rubik’s Cube she’d found in a box of Hayley’s old things.

The rest of the night passed in a little too much wine, watching _The Princess Bride_ for the millionth time, and giggling like schoolgirls. When the men finally found them again in the den down the hall from the main living room, it was closer to morning than night. Daneel was curled up in an armchair like a cat. Mikaela, Zooey, and Vi were sitting in a corner with bridal magazines spread out on the table between them. Elba was sprawled out on the ground watching _Casablanca_ , and Hayley was lying on the couch, her head pillowed on Amanda’s lap while the older woman ran her hands through her hair, humming her favorite lullaby.

Spock appeared in front of her, crouched down to look her in the eye. There was still an intensity about his regard, but it was softened slightly, easing into something much more familiar. She smiled softly and reached out a hand to caress his cheek. He returned the smile and stood, scooping her up along the way. Closing her eyes, she tucked herself closer to his chest with a sigh. She waved over his shoulder when her family called their good-nights.

She was placed gently on the bed before she managed to pry her eyes back open. Spock was settling next to her, his front pressed to her side as he stared adoringly down at her. His fingers traced the contours of her face as she snuggled against him. She sighed when he moved down, pressing his lips to her jawline in butterfly kisses.

“Part of me doesn’t ever want to leave,” she whispered into the dark room.

He stilled above her, moving back slightly to look at her, “It is not necessary for us to leave, if you do not wish to.”

She blinked at him, trying to clear her alcohol-fogged mind enough to understand him, “Spock…are you suggesting…We can’t just leave the Enterprise!”

He hummed, brushed hair out of her face tenderly, “The Academy of Science has requested I join them.”

“No,” she shook her head before he could continue, pushing him back so she could sit up. “No, I won’t let you. There’s a reason you didn’t join them in the first place, Spock. Have you forgotten?”

His eyes darkened in the minimal light from the moonlight spilling in. Of course he hadn’t forgotten how the council had insulted, not only his mother and his human heritage, but Hayley as well. She felt bad for bringing it up, but he had to realize how bad of an idea it was to join them.

“And besides, we have family on the Enterprise now, Spock. Jim, Bones, Mikaela, Zooey, Vi, Sulu, Chekov, Elba, Daneel. They’re our family just as much as Amanda, Sarek, and Sybok. I’ll miss home when we leave, but we really can’t just abandon our responsibilities, _our family_ like that. It’s not right.”

Spock’s eyes remained dark, but for a whole different reason. The intensity was back and suddenly Hayley knew exactly what that was. A rush of warmth flooded her as he pushed her back on the pillows and loomed over her.

“T’hy’la,” he murmured just before his lips descended upon hers.


	34. Just a Note

Hello all!

I recently reread this story (again) and while I love the characters and the plot for the most part, I still see where I can improve. Most of the things I'm unhappy with is because I wrote this chapter by chapter without any planning. I'm not saying that doesnt work but for me personally it makes it harder to stay motivated and even harder to come back to a story later. 

I don't know if I'm making sense, but what I'm trying to say is I've recently decided to rewrite The New Frontier much like I'm rewriting my Daughters Of Time series. I was super excited about it and had most of the outline done when the unthinkable happened.

My laptop crashed. 😱

Luckily I had saved my work on a USB drive just before so I don't think i lost anything, but i am without the ability to write at the moment. I wasn't planning on writing a note detailing any of this, but I was so frustrated I needed a way to vent.

So in short, I will be uploading a new version of this some time in the future when my computer is back from the computer hospital. If none of that interests you feel free to ignore this note.

Bye!


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